The Assignment
by Alex's-favorites
Summary: It is 2011 and Skye Coulson gets an assignment while at the Academy. She is partnered up with none other than Grant Ward, a fellow agent in the Academy that she cannot stand. Will this assignment force them to get along?
1. Chapter 1

SKYE POV

You've got to be kidding me! I shake my head. No, I must have heard him wrong. They wouldn't do this. They couldn't do this!

"With her?!" Grant Ward yells pointing at me with a disgusted look on his face.

My lip curls in anger and I turn back to Agent Blake. "There has to be a mistake. I can't do this. Not with him." I throw a look at Ward.

"Can it, sweetheart." Ward throws at me. "You'd be so lucky to be paired up with me for this."

I bite down on my tongue when I feel a frustrated growl coming from my throat. I can see Ward's narrowed look at me but I try not to look back at him.

"We can't stand to be in the same room together. How do you suppose we act like we're together?" I only half demand because Agent Blake is still my damned instructor and I need to show respect. I've never liked Blake but my mom will have my ass if I disrespect another Agent.

Agent Blake looks like he's about to lose it, so I fold my arms across my chest and take a deep breath. I wait for it and then, "That is precisely why I'm giving you both this assignment!" He bellows. "You are in your final year at the academy. You've both excelled in every class you've done! You are learning to be spies. That means undercover work. There are no two people in this school who hate each other more. Every student is being given a two-month assignment. This is yours." Blake comes out from behind his desk and stands in front of me and Ward. "I will have someone watch you. Your mission is to convince people you are enemies turned lovers."

Ugh. I'm going to throw up.

"Now, I've made sure neither of you is dating anyone as not to disrupt your personal lives." Blake's voice comes down in volume.

I throw a look at Ward. I thought he was dating Kara.

"You are not allowed to tell anyone," he looks at both of us with a warning, "anyone about your assignment. You are not allowed to HINT that this is an assignment. You have two months to convince this whole damn school that you're a happy couple. This assignment is from morning to night. Do you understand me? Nobody knows. Maybe you'll learn to get along. Now, get the hell out of my office." Blake turns and I know I can't say anything to get me out of this.

Frustrated, I turn to go out the door. Ward holds it open for me as I stalk through. I don't look at him and I don't thank him.

I want to yell in frustration but I hold it in. As I stalk out of the building and into the grounds, I close my eyes and focus on my breathing.

My mom would tell me to center myself and not let this get to me.

I feel Ward a fraction of a second before he speaks to me. "Are you done with your tantrum, Princess?"

I take another breath and open my eyes to find him standing about a foot to my right. I hate when he calls me Princess.

"Stop calling me that." I say through gritted teeth.

He rolls his eyes at me. He's always hated me. He thinks I'm spoiled and that I don't deserve to be here. He's told me and anyone who would listen often enough.

He doesn't know what I've gone through to get here. We're out of SHIELD Academy at the end of this year but it's only my second in Operations after two years in Communications.

"Not gonna happen, Princess." He pushes but after a moment he rolls his eyes again. He sighs and says, "We have to meet tonight and figure out some sort of plan. Let's do dinner."

Dammit! I'm not getting out of this. I groan. I know there's no use in throwing a fit. This is my reality. This is what I want to do with my life so I have to be a big girl and do it. "Fine." I say defeated.

"Look, Princess, I've worked my ass off for four years at this Academy and for years before that. I'm not going to let one damn assignment with you ruin what I've done. Mommy and Daddy might help you with all your troubles but you're not ruining this for me." He hurls at me.

I want to hit him. "You don't know me. Stop acting as if you have any idea. You might be at the top of our class but we all work hard, myself included." He always flings my parents in my face.

Egotistical jerk! So, what if he's hot as hell and made to look like a God! He's an asshole. He takes every opportunity to talk shit and he needs to shut up about it.

Ward steps back from me. "I'll text you with dinner info." And just like that, he's done with me. He turns and walks away.

I hold my urge to stomp my foot like a child. "You don't even have my number!" I yell at him.

"I'll get it from Trip!" He calls back without turning around.

I grumble as I stalk across campus to the gym. I'm done with classes today but I'm sure I'm late for training.

I'm two years behind everyone else when it comes to Operations. Switching halfway through the Academy should have landed me in the first year of Operations after leaving Communications but Director Fury had let me transfer as a third year because of my languages and quick learning skills.

Being fluent in three languages and learning another two helped. Doesn't hurt that I know Director Fury personally or that my dad is basically his right-hand man or that my mom is known as the Calvary. I could see why people like Ward would think I got in because of who I know but dammit, I'd worked my ass off to prove I deserved to be here.

I trained on the weekends with my mom. Sometimes, I'd have help from Nat and Clint. But at school, I had Trip and Bobbi that helped me.

I was meeting Trip today and I was late. I ran to the locker room once inside the building and quickly changed.

I found Trip jumping rope.

"It's about time, girl." Trip's bright smile, always lifted up my spirits.

Out of everyone in Operations, I was closest to Trip. He came from big names too. He and I understood each other on a level others didn't. We felt the pressure of being related to names that were respected.

"Sorry. I ran into your boy." I confess.

He laughs. "Any bloodshed today?" He asks as he slows his jumping and then stops altogether.

I laugh. "Not today." I shouldn't have brought it up. I'm not supposed to tell anyone this is an assignment.

"What?" Trip gives me a side glance. "Come on, girl. Spill. I know you're not telling me something." He walks toward me, giving me a look.

"Ugh." I let my shoulders fall and I drop my head back. "I'm kind of having dinner with him."

Trip starts laughing. "No, seriously. Tell me what happened?" He waits to look at me and he stops laughing. "Skye, stop playing with me. Come on."

I raise my eyebrows and shrug.

"You and Ward are going to dinner?" He looks shocked.

"Can you give him my number? We kind of agreed to go out tonight and he said he'd text but he didn't get my number." I admit as I walk toward the boxing ring.

When I reach it, I look back and Trip is standing in the exact spot I left him in.

"What?" I ask, knowing full well Trip is going to ask a million questions.

His mouth is hanging open as I climb in the ring. Maybe if I ignore him, he'll recover. I go to the corner and grab the tape that Trip has already set up for me. I behind to bandage my hands.

Slowly, out of the corner of my eye, I see him approach the ring. "You mean to tell me that you were late—which you never are—because you were agreeing to go on a date with Ward? With Grant Ward?"

I roll my eyes. "Can you please get in here? I really need to train." I complain.

He laughs but climbs into the ring.

"You're going on a date with Grant Ward? My roommate? Top SHIELD agent at the Academy? Is that what you're telling me?" He asks, taking the tape from me.

I turn with a frustrated groan and grab my gloves. "Yes. Ok. I'm going to dinner with him."

Trip is laughing at me. His hands are already bandaged. So, he reaches for his gloves.

"Stop laughing, dammit!" I warn.

"I'm sorry, baby girl. You and Ward are just always at each other's throats." He shakes his head and I can tell he's trying not to laugh again. "I mean the heat has always been there but both of you were set of pretending it was hate."

I roll my eyes. I was sick of hearing about this. Trip always insisted that Ward and I had pent up sexual tension. I don't know why that always bothered me but it did.

Yea, so Ward was hot as hell. And I had more than once thought about eating and licking ice cream off of him. But every time he opened his mouth, all I want to do is beat him. He hated me from day one. He'd gone out of his way to talk trash about me and belittle me in front of everyone. I shake my head trying to stop the memories from coming.

Grant Ward was strong, smart, caring and hated injustice. I hated myself for falling for him so quickly. Even though he hates me. Even though he makes me feel awful. Even though he had everyone laughing at me and convinced most I'd only gotten in because of my dad.

I'd cried over Grant Ward last year too many times to count. This year it would be different. I hated him for making me feel like crap. I hated him for being an asshole to me. I hated him for making me cry. I hated him for being so good looking. I hated him for being gorgeous.

I focus on Trip's instructions and get lost in the rhythm of the punches and my footwork. Trip never goes easy on me. He pushes me and I'm glad because it doesn't take long before I forget about Grant Ward.

"Alright, baby girl. I think that's enough for today. Come on, let's do some weights." Trip backs up and drops his arms.

I nod and look at the wall clock. We've been at it for a little over an hour. But I'm nowhere near being done. I need to hit the weights before I do my nightly five-mile run.

I follow Trip down the ring and through some doors where they keep all the gym equipment. "Let's just do five sets before calling it a night." Trip suggests.

I shake my head. "No. I have to make up for being late."

Trip sighs. "Skye, it was ten minutes. Come on, I gotta practice my Portuguese and Russian. I'm taking an oral evaluation tomorrow."

"And I need to work on this." I tell him as I pick up some weights and do some crunches.

"Skye, you don't need this. You're at our level. You've worked your ass off all last year to be in the condition you should be at. You gotta give yourself a break." He urges me. This is Trip's favorite pastime, to tell me to give myself a break.

"I'm behind two years." I remind him. I know because Ward won't let me forget.

"You've done everything, Skye. You've taken every class. You come to the gym every day after classes. You work every weekend. Chill. You're there." He's begging me with his face and then gives me puppy dog eyes.

I sigh. "Fine. Six sets." I propose. We usually do ten.

He shakes his head before agreeing. After we're done, we go our own separate ways. He doesn't know I run five miles after training with him. He'd kill me.

I'm on my last lap when my phone rings. I check who's on the phone before I hit the Bluetooth to answer. Hmm. Who is this?

"Hello?" I don't drop my pace, as I answer.

"Princess, are you ready?" Ward's harsh voice makes me stop in my tracks.

Damn, I'd lost all track of time. "No." I say as I focus on my breathing. I turn and walk off the track.

"I don't care. I'm picking you up." Ward sounds irritated at me. "Thanks for telling Trip we were going to dinner by the way. You should give me a heads-up next time."

I grit my teeth as I make my way to the lockers. "You're top spy, remember? I'm sure you improvised. Besides, how the hell was I supposed to tell you when I don't have your number?"

"Where are you?" He demands, changing the subject.

I reach the gym.

"Why?"

"What do you mean why? We're going to dinner. Where are you so I can pick you up?" I don't know why but I imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose. He does that a lot.

"Why can't I just meet you?" I groan as I open my locker.

"Because as we plan, we can make it look like a damn date and kill two birds with one stone. Jeezus, you want to be a spy and can't think ahead to simple things like this?" He scoffs.

I close my eyes and grip my clothes tight. "I have to shower. I'll be in my room in half an hour." I say before hanging up and throwing my Bluetooth in my locker, along with my phone.

I take a fast shower and rush to my room without breaking a sweat. I throw on the first dress I find and put some mousse in my hair. As I put on some heels, there's a knock on my door.

"Great." I can't help but moan once more.

I open the door and stop myself before I gasp at the sight of Grant Ward. He looks handsome in black jeans, a black Henley and a leather jacket. He's shaven and his hair gelled back but not greasy looking.

I take a deep breath. Jeez, how long have I been looking at him? Wait, why hasn't a smart-ass remark left his mouth yet?

"You look…nice." He says as he frowns. He steps forward and places a kiss on my temple. It takes me by surprise. I try to ignore the feel of his lips on my skin.

We're supposed to be on a date. Act like it. I remind myself.

I smile and place a kiss on his cheek, near the corner of his lips.

"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." I can play this game too, Ward. I'm going to make you believe we're on a real date by the end of the night.

He clears his throat. "Ready to go?" He asks.

I nod and prepare myself. I can do this. I can do this.

He laces our hands together and leads me out of the building. When we arrive at his jeep, he opens the door for me and waits until I'm inside before he walks around.

Damn. Is he really a gentleman or is he this good at acting?

"So, where are we going?" I ask him in my most pleasant voice. There's no way I'm dropping the act, even if we're alone. From this point on, we're on assignment and there is no way I'm not going to pass.

He looks over to me and smiles, clearly going along like I am. "I thought we'd try the Italian place on Edison. I heard you like pasta."

My breath catches for a moment. How does he know?

His eyes twinkle as he looks at me. He winks and starts the car. Damn him! He's been doing homework while I was working out. His resources are limited. Trip is the most obvious choice for this but he could have also called Bobbi.

"Sounds great. It's new so I haven't tried it yet." I answer honestly.

The trip is fast and quiet but surprisingly not awkward. I'm also shockingly excited. I'm an idiot. This is an assignment. I got to get my shit together. I would not be here if it weren't for it and Ward would certainly not be taking me out. He hates me. He thinks I'm talentless and the only reason I'm here is because of mom and dad.

He valets the car and again takes my hand in his once outside the restaurant. He gives the greater our name and to my surprise, he's asked for a table near the back. It's more secluded than the rest. It looks romantic.

Immediately when we sit, we are brought some water and told a waiter will be right with us. I settle in my seat and look across the small table to Ward.

"Ok, look." He starts as I knew he would. He likes being in control. "We're in deep cover for two months. This isn't going to be a normal op. Typically, we have a cover but for this, we have to be ourselves. So, I suggest we get to know each other. We have to make our friends believe we're actually dating. Tonight, let's do that."

I don't try to hide my surprise. I thought he was going to be an asshole. I hate that he surprises me and shocked that I find it attractive.

"Works for me." I smile. I'm going to do my part in making this situation bearable.

"Don't get me wrong, I'll still probably hate you after this." He lifts his water like he's saying cheers and takes a drink.

Grr. Why is he always an asshole? "I don't care what you think about me." I throw at him showing him my anger. "I don't know what I've done to you but from day one, you made sure to judge me. No matter what I do, no matter what I say or what I accomplish, you will hate me. I'll do my part to pass this assignment but you can learn to be less of an ass."

"Why should I take it easy on you?" He asks. "Everything you have has been handed to you—because of who your parents are. There are dozens—maybe hundreds of people trying to get into this program. People who gave their blood, sweat and tears to get here and you bypassed them all because of who you are."

If I had the power to burn him, I would. "You know nothing about me or my life. You don't know the work I put in to get into the Academy. I've had to work extra hard for what I have. If anything, who my parents are, only works against me, not for me. I have earned everything I have!" I yell in a low voice, looking around. I want to make sure nobody is looking at us. I'm clenching my teeth.

He doesn't know. He doesn't know the shit I went through. He doesn't know the pain I endured. He doesn't know the actual torture I was in while held captive by the man I considered my uncle. Only Fitzsimmons, my parents and Director Fury know. He doesn't see me. None of them do.

Ward watches me and after a moment, he must see something in me because he drops his shoulders in defeat. "I apologize. You're right. I don't know you and you don't know me. So, let's get to know each other."

It takes me a minute to calm myself down before I nod.

The waitress comes over and takes our drink order. She leaves menus and walks away. I don't miss the looks and smiles she's giving Ward.

Bitch. She doesn't know this isn't a real date. Who eye fucks a guy when he's out on a date? It's infuriating and I push her out of my mind.

"What made you switch from Communications to Operations?" He asks. His tone is softer and he's leaning back. I don't know if he's at ease or trying to convey that he is.

I sigh. Ok, let's do this. I can tell him the basics. Would I tell a real boyfriend what happened to me? I try to imagine that. No. I don't like talking about it in therapy much less a guy I was trying to date.

GRANT POV

I watch her as she debates what to tell me. I force my eyes to stay on her face. Anytime I let my eyes fall they go straight to her breasts and dammit if she doesn't have a nice rack. She's wearing a pink dress that hugs her curves just right and stops just above mid-thigh. The neckline isn't low but it gives just enough view of her tits to tease me.

I've never really paid much attention to her body and this was why. I've learned not to look on purpose. She's hot. The moment I saw her, I wanted her but I knew who she was before she stepped foot in the Academy. She'd transferred straight into the second year like she'd earned a spot like the rest of us.

I'd gone through so much before even being accepted to the Academy and she just walked right in. Of course, being the daughter of Phil Coulson and Melinda May had given her every opportunity in life there was. She had the perfect little family. She grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth.

It pissed me off how smart she was. She picked things up quickly. Her chocolate brown eyes called to me. So did her luscious lips and I hated myself for being attracted to her. She was everything I hated and everything I would have wanted for myself. My damn body craved for her. I've only ever seen her in classes. She never wore dresses. But this one looked damn good on her.

"Just tell me. Don't lie. We have to know things like these. People will know if we lie to each other." I reminded her.

She nodded. "I've always been good with computers—with technology. I like to plan and think ahead but I've never been strong like my mom. Both my parents taught me to get out of a jam with my brain, not with my fists. I always wanted to do Operations but my dad got cancer." She looks at me with fear in her eyes.

I'm shocked. Coulson has cancer. Fuck. I feel like shit. "I'm sorry, Skye. Damn. I didn't know."

She has tears in her eyes and she gives me a small smile. "He's in remission but for a while there, we thought we were going to lose him. I didn't want to add extra pressure, so when it came down to deciding what I wanted to do, I chose Communications." She stops suddenly and I watch her carefully. "Once he was in remission, he saw my heart wasn't into it and we spoke. I applied for Operations and was allowed to transfer."

That isn't it. I can tell she's hiding something but I'm not going to push it now. This answer feels rehearsed. This is what she tells everyone. I'll find out eventually what she's hiding. We still have a lot to talk about.

She looks me dead in the eye and straightens up. "I didn't jump to the front of the line. I got interviewed and did all the testing to be approved. The only reason I started as third year and not as a first is because I've already had field training. I am good under pressure. I learn quickly and speak three different languages fluently. It's hard enough being the daughter of legends. I have to prove my worth daily, Ward. I don't have the luxury of slaking off because if I do, then people use it as an example of why I shouldn't be where I am."

Damn. Having her talk to me like this makes me want her more. What the hell is wrong with me? This girl turns me on even when she's stern with me.

I look at her for a bit, feeling like I'm seeing her for the first time. I never thought about it that way. She'd proven herself time and time again and I refused to give her credit for that but I'd never thought about how people would see her if she failed at something.

"I can see that. Can you see how it looks like to me and everyone else? I worked my ass off to get to where I am. I had to convince Director Fury that I was made for this program and even then, I had Agent Hand fighting in my corner." I don't want to argue but she has to see why I want to hate her—why I act like I do.

Vic was my savior. She'd done everything for me when she didn't know who I was but she saw something in me and I was going to do everything in my power to prove her right. Everything I do is for her. I want to make her proud.

"I heard you and Agent Hand knew each other." She looks like she's treading lightly. I've gone off on people who've asked me about Vic before so I get why she's watching me carefully. I sigh.

"I came from a shitty household." I told her. I don't know how much to say but if we need to answer some questions about each other, she'll have to know some of this. "My parents were negligent. My mother was an alcoholic and my father abusive. My older brother took his anger out on me and my younger brother—but mostly my younger brother." I hesitate, feeling my chest tightening. I swallow and continue, "my younger brother died. I got sent to military school. One night, I escaped and made my way home. I set fire to the whole damn place and got caught. I was sent to juvenile hall where Victoria found me. She was able to get me out and mentored me through my remaining high school years. She continued to work with me. Our goal was to get me into SHIELD. It took Fury a while to accept me because he thought I had anger and control issues." I feel uneasy. Nobody really knows any of this. Bobbi knows some and so does Trip but I feel like Skye knows more than she should.

She's watching me with careful eyes. I lean back into my seat feeling uncomfortable. It feels like I'm naked and I don't like it.

"He made me see a therapist before he'd accept me into Operations." Skye tells me and the tone of her voice reminds me of how I feel. She's being completely honest, I can tell.

Why do I get the feeling nobody knows this about her? Why would she have to see a therapist? I study her and see the moment she puts her walls back up.

"We all have stuff, Ward. He wants us to be ok before he sends us out into the field. He wouldn't want us to be in over our heads." She gives me a small smile. "I'm sorry about your asshole parents and brother. I'm sorry you lost someone but I'm happy you had Agent Hand. If she saw something in you, then you're where you're supposed to be."

"Thanks." I say and we focus on dinner for a while.

Before we're almost finished with our food, I ask her about her dad. "So, I heard a rumor about your dad."

She raises one eyebrow. "Rumor? I didn't think Grant Ward had time for rumors." She smiles and takes another bite of her dinner.

I want to chuckle but hold it back. My lips twitch and I can see she sees it because her smile widens. "Wait. Are you about to smile?"

I roll my eyes and as I do, I let my smile slip. Damn. I like her teasing me.

"I hear things from time to time."

"And what have you heard?" She asks leaning forward.

"I heard Director Fury is naming him as Deputy Director on Friday night." I search her eyes for a tell. I've met Coulson a couple of times. He's a bit too relaxed for me but I can see he's respected. He's an expert strategist.

Skye sighs. "I have no idea. I heard the same thing going around." She answers and takes the final bite of her food. She can eat. I've got to remember that. "I honestly don't know what to tell you. My parents decided when he came back that he was going to take it easy. My dad hasn't seen much action for a while. Fury has him teaching and scouting. He's really good at spotting talent. His first two finds are my best friends. They're both in Science and Technology, so I don't get too see them as often as I'd like. I'm sure if he was scouting back then, he'd be fighting Agent Hand trying to get to you."

My eyes widen. That's a compliment. I hear a lot of good things about Coulson and for Skye to say that Coulson would have liked me, is a confidence booster. "I don't know what she saw in me but I'd like to prove her right. I want to make her proud."

Skye has this way of looking at me that makes me uncomfortable. It's like she's seeing me—really seeing me.

"You're the top of our class, Ward. I'm sure she's proud. Even if you weren't, you have a reputation. People admire you." Skye blushes which makes me smile.

"Reputation, huh. What kind of reputation?" I lean forward. I want to hear this.

She looks away and shrugs. I wait for her to answer. "You're honest, hardworking, charismatic, loyal…" she looks me in the eyes and her eyes warm, "you're always the first to stand up to defend someone or call someone out for their bullshit. People respect you. You're a leader, Ward."

The last part she says with such emotion that I'm having a hard time breathing. Has she noticed me like I've noticed her? Does she watch me from afar? Does she look for reasons to be in the same room with me? Fuck. What the hell is wrong with me?! This is an assignment.

SKYE POV

I notice the change in Ward almost immediately and my mood nosedives. I can feel the old—or real Grant Ward coming back.

"I think that's enough for tonight. We've given this plenty of time for tonight." He pulls some twenties out of his wallet and stands.

Well, that was abrupt.

He waits for me to stand and walks behind me. His hand is on the small of my back but I can feel the uneasiness wash from him to me.

He's being so cold. How the hell does he do that? And what the hell happened? We were having such a great time.

I try to process the night. Had he played me all night? Was anything he said to me tonight true?

I grip my purse, feeling sick to my stomach. I'm so fucking stupid. In one hour, I drop everything I know about Grant Ward and let him get to me. I know him and still, I let myself fall for him. Fuck. I just want to be over him. I close my eyes and remind myself that in order to keep my stupid feelings at bay, I must focus on hating him.

When he pulls over, he makes a move to unbuckle his seat belt but I'm already out the door and hurrying to my room.

I hear his door open. "Skye?" He calls me but I don't turn because I'm still so humiliated with myself. At some point during that dinner, I let myself believe we were on a real date. That's on me, not him. I growl at myself as I pull my keys out of my purse and open my door.

I can't do this for two months.

GRANT POV

What the fuck just happened? She just straight up jumped out of the car. I was going to walk her to her door. If anyone was watching they'd think this ended in disaster. Fuck.

I drive around for a while. I'm too antsy to go back to my room and get questioned by Trip. I want to go to Skye's room and find out why she ran. Liar. I want to go and kiss her. On the drive back to the dorms, I'd thought about nothing else. It was a date. A kiss at the end of the night was expected. We had to make this shit look real, right? So, I had to kiss her.

I shake my head. That's the excuse I'd make anyway.

"I hate her. I hate her." I say out loud hoping it'll make it true but after tonight, I can't hate Skye. But I do have to get her out of my mind. This is only an assignment.

It's become a routine. I pick up the phone and dial without thinking.

"Yea?" Kara answers in a sultry voice.

"I'm coming over." I say before I hang up. I need release. Kara helps clear my head. She knows how to please me. No strings attached. No feelings. Just release.


	2. Chapter 2

SKYE POV

The day goes by like any other. The only class I have with Ward is Manipulation and Deception at the end of the day. The class is short and it's only for a semester.

He comes and sits next to me which is unusual because we normally avoid each other at all costs. I know we're supposed to lay the groundwork for this fake relationship but he gave me whiplash last night.

"Princess, what are you doing tonight?" He asks as he gets comfortable.

A couple of heads turn. Everyone knows we hate each other. I pretend I don't see them and look at Ward who has a goofy smile on his face.

I roll my eyes at him and can't help the genuine smile that appears on my face. "Stop calling me that." I warn him but my tone is not threatening like it usually is when we speak.

His smile is slanted on one side and I can't decide if it makes him look more charming or more annoying. He seems to be enjoying this.

"Ok. Sorry." He holds up his hands. "Well, you busy?"

I have my Jiu-jitsu class at seven downtown followed by my five-mile run but I guess I can tell him I'm free before that.

I sigh. "I have somewhere to be at seven."

He shrugs. "Cancel. I need your help." He leans back in his chair as Agent Huxley walks in.

I shake my head and shrug. "I can't. Sorry."

He tilts his head to the side. "What about after class?"

Agent Huxley is taking his time setting his things down.

I look over at him. "I was going to hang with Trip. Why?" I narrow my eyes. He can't possibly want to go out again.

"I need your help with something."

"With what?" I lean forward in my desk. It's weird talking to him like we're friends.

"Well, I don't have anything to wear for Friday night and wanted to see if you'd help me out. I'm terrible at shopping." His eyebrows are raised and waiting for my answer.

A couple of mouths around us drop open and I hold back my laughter.

"And why would I do that?" I tease, keeping up this charade. I'm enjoying shocking everyone.

There's that damn smile again. It makes him look more charming. Damn that jaw. Damn those eyes and damn those dimples.

"Well, I thought you could help me coordinate. I still don't know what you're wearing Friday night and I know you want to keep it a surprise. I don't want us to clash." His voice is smooth and so sexy.

Damn him. We did not agree on going together Friday night. SHIELD is having some big party. We have them every once in a while. There's no reason for this one—at least that we know of. Sometimes the Director just wants to party. Although there is a rumor that Fury will be announcing who he's naming as Deputy Director.

Ward is watching me—daring me even to shoot him down in front of everyone.

I want to growl and yell at him for being an ass but instead, I keep the smile on my face. "Fine. I refuse to tell you what I'm wearing." Truth is I don't have anything to wear and will need to go shopping. "But you have to listen to what I say and try on everything I want you to."

"I'll be your Ken doll for the day." He promises.

Did he just say that?

I blush involuntarily and look back to Agent Huxley. Please dear God, just start this wretched class already.

The class goes by agonizingly slow. It's usually like this when Huxley talks about methods to use. It's faster when he shows us videos of actual missions or brings in speakers. Finally, he's done and he lets us go.

"Ready, Princess?" Ward asks looking at me. His tone is different than what he usually uses when he calls me that. It sounds more like a pet name now than it does an insult.

I turn to him with a look but smile as soon as my eyes meet his. "I'm all yours, Ken."

He chuckles and reaches for my hand.

"Oh my God." I pretend I'm shocked and look around at everyone. "Did he just laugh?" I point at Ward and look back at him. "Did you just laugh? Please tell me someone got that on video."

He shakes his head and pulls me gently. "Haha. Come on. We don't have a lot of time if you need to be somewhere by seven."

I let him pull me out of class but once in the hallways step right alongside him. "You know you're really giving me whiplash." I confess.

He turns to me with a frown. "What do you mean?"

"I mean can I have a warning next time you decide to switch moods on me? You're so hot and cold. I don't know which Ward I'm going to get. Is it you dropping out of character or what?"

He looks like I've insulted him. "I'm not dropping character because I'm not in character." His voice is sharp.

I roll my eyes. I do this a lot with him. "Care to explain what the hell happened last night then?" I give him a look, daring him to contradict what I'm saying.

"I could say the same thing about you." He barks back and I can see he's back to being serious Ward and not playful Ward from before. It feels weird to be having such an angry conversation as we hold hands.

"Me? What did I do?" I asked taken aback.

"You hightailed it out of the jeep before I could make a complete stop." He's looking forward, avoiding me on purpose.

My jaw drops. "This isn't on me. This is on you. We were having a perfectly good dinner and then something happened and you completely flipped on me. You were cold leaving the restaurant and it was an awkward car ride. I just wanted space." It's irritating me to have to explain myself.

I wait for him to say something but he stays quiet. I let my shoulders fall in defeat. I'll give him time to gather his thoughts. I don't want to fight because frankly, it will give me a headache. I didn't sleep well last night. I've had a weird feeling and I can't shake it off.

Once we get to his jeep, he opens the door for me and waits till I climb in before closing the door behind me. It irritates me that he does this. He doesn't get to be a gentleman. He's supposed to be an asshole.

"Do you do that for all your dates?" I ask him out of curiosity once he's behind the wheel.

He gives me a quick side glance before driving off. "Do what?" He's annoyed.

"Open and close car doors." I state, relaxing into the seat.

"I don't date." Is his only answer. He looks uncomfortable.

"Come on. You have to have gone on dates before. Jeez. Why are you being weird? It's just a question." I make a face and turn to look out the window.

"Are you one of those feminists that want to prove they don't need a man for anything? Is that why you're offended that I open your door?" He's being an ass again.

Lord give me patience with this man. "Why do people say 'feminists' like it's some dirty word?" I protest giving him a look. He gives me one of his own. "Yes. No." Am I? "I don't know but that's not why I'm asking. Nobody does it anymore. I wasn't complaining again about it. I wasn't offended. It was a question. Jeez. Forget I asked." I turn to look back out the window.

Why must he get under my skin and why must he make things so hard? This is never going to work. We are going to fail this damn assignment if we can't learn to get along.

We're both quiet for a moment.

"You say that word a lot." His voice is even.

I don't ask because I don't want to know. I don't care what word he thinks I say a lot. It doesn't matter to me anyway.

"Why do you always want to fight?" I ask because I really want to know but I hate that my voice sounds so damn wounded. "You say things to get a rise out of me. You keep pushing me. This is never going to work with you acting like that." Jeez, can I sound any more vulnerable?

I realize we're going to the mall and the closer it gets the more awkward and heavy the air in the car gets.

"I'm sorry." His apology surprises me enough for me to turn to him. He looks at me for a second before turning back to the road. "I don't mean to do it. Look—" he stops and it looks to me like he's fighting with himself, "I don't like that you know things about me. I don't know you. I don't like anyone knowing things about me. We learn we can use everything against people. I don't want anyone having that power over me."

His confession eases my fears and softens me up. I watch him carefully. He looks uncomfortable and the more I watch him, the more it's obvious to me he feels vulnerable.

I look away but it's like I'm seeing Ward in a whole new light. He's afraid to be vulnerable. He thinks I'm going to use what I know about his past against him.

"I know you don't know me but I'd never do that." I need him to trust me. "I'm not that kind of person. It goes both ways, Ward. I can say something to you about me but I have to trust—" I give him a pointed look, "that you'd keep it to yourself. We can't convince anyone that this is real if we're not honest." Dammit. How can I make him see? "You'll meet Fitzsimmons…well Fitz and Simmons and I know my friends. They'll drill you about us, about me and about what you made you want to date me, to begin with. I'm not saying tell me everything if you're not comfortable but we do have to talk. You can't bait me. We can't argue like this anymore. We'll fail miserably."

He sighs. "I keep telling myself that but my first instinct is to fight with you. Fine. If they're going to grill me, tell me everything there is to know about you."

I laugh because he looks determined.

"I'm serious." He gives me a stern look as he pulls into the Mall's parking lot.

"I know but that's a lot to go over." And a lot I won't be telling you. I can't tell him. He'd pity me and I don't want his pity.

"OK. Let's go in there. Find something for us to wear and play nice. I'll be nice—er." He rolls his eyes. "If I say something out of line or begin to be rude, just call me out on my shit and I'll stop." He has that damn half, tilted grin on his face.

I raise my eyes to the heavens. "Fine."

"Wait for me. I'm going to open your door." He commands as he exits the vehicle. I roll my eyes but I blush. I don't know why I like that he does this. I've never cared before.

He opens the door and laces his fingers with mine. We make our way into the entrance and I try not to think about how we look together because this isn't real.

GRANT POV

I hate and love that she calls me out on my shit.

Her words in the car had pulled at heartstrings I didn't even know I had. I don't realize when I'm being an ass—sometimes I do but not always.

It might have a protective instinct to push people away but that's not an excuse especially when I'm hurting her. She says I don't know her and she might be right but I do know things about her. I know I've never seen her belittle anyone. I've seen her encourage others. I've seen her be a clown. She doesn't take herself seriously although she pushes herself to be the best. She might not be the best but it's obvious that she tries her hardest.

Damn. I knew I had to meet her friends but it was an abstract idea. Fitzsimmons, she'd called them. Well, if they were going to grill me then I'd have to ask everything I could think of.

"So, tell me how you met these friends of yours?" I ask and she smiles.

"Fitzsimmons, I call them. Well, everyone calls them that. I think it started with my dad. They're two peas in a pod. My dad found them separately but paired them up and their chemistry was immediate. They because best friends and only started dating a couple of months ago. His name is Leopold Fitz and hers is Jemma Simmons. He's an engineer and she's in bio-chem." She rambles on about her friends and I enjoy watching her. She's so animated when she's excited.

We arrive at the first clothing store before she stops talking.

"Sorry. I'm sure that's enough about Fitzsimmons." She laughs at herself. She looks to where we're at and turns to me, one eyebrow raised. "I thought we were here for you, not me."

I grin. Do I confess I want her to buy something specifically to wear for me? Right. I just now realized it myself. There's no way she's hearing that.

"I can't buy something without knowing what you're wearing." I say instead. "So, I figured we'd start with you."

"You want to go dress shopping with me?" She asks not believing what she's hearing.

"Hey, if I'm Ken then you're Barbie." I had agreed to be her Ken doll; I didn't see the harm in turning the tables around.

She laughs. "I don't think you know what you got yourself into." She pulls me into the store and has a smile on her face that has me a little frightened.

"Hello, can I help you find something?" I young, blonde saleswoman approaches. I don't miss the way she smiles at me. She directed the question at me and not Skye.

I look to Skye and know she noticed it because she's rolling her eyes—something she does a lot, but she looks annoyed.

I smile. "Yes, my girlfriend here needs a formal dress and a work event." I can feel my smile twitch when Skye's eyes snap to me.

The saleswoman's smile falters as she turns to Skye, who now has a smile plastered on her face. She gives the saleswoman a look that screams, "try me."

"Great." The saleswoman has to work on her fake voice. She's trying to come off as nice but it's not coming through. "Well, what were you looking for? Did you want to look at floor length dresses ot something short?" She starts asking Skye questions and my mind wanders.

I don't particularly want to be part of this conversation. I just want to get to the part where Skye tries on the dresses.

I block them both out as they discuss dresses and I end up looking around. I find a couple of dresses that I'd like to see Skye in.

I notice Skye and the saleswoman both start grabbing dresses.

"Hey, princess what size do you wear?" I ask over my shoulder.

"Four." She calls out to me.

I grab her size in a couple of dresses and hand them to her. She gives me a confused look but takes them without saying anything.

She strolls into a fitting room and I wander away finding something I can see her wearing. I find her size and grab it before knocking on her door.

"Here's another one."

"Give me a second. Let me finish putting this one on." She calls out.

I wait and a minute later, the door opens.

She looks beautiful. The dress is floor length and black with long sleeves.

"Well?" She asks.

I clear my throat. "It's nice."

She frowns and walks to the full-length mirrors beside me. She turns and looks at herself from different angles. She's still frowning but I don't see the problem.

"Mmm. I don't like it." She announces and I hand her the dress I'm holding. "It's white." She says.

"I'm fascinated that you know your colors, princess." I joke as I step back and lean against the wall opposite to her dressing room.

"Learned them just last week." She gives me a lot but I can tell she's amused. "Grant, everyone will be wearing black or something dark."

I take a moment to gather myself. Nobody has called me Grant in years. It's a little too personal and I don't know if I like it or not. Why would she use my name?

"Who cares? You should wear what you want to wear." I shrug. "So, what was it like growing up with Coulson and May?" I ask.

She comes out with yet another beautiful dress. She does the same thing. She twirls around and shakes her head before she answers me.

She tells me about spending a lot of time with her grandparents because of the missions her parents went on. She describes the fear of never seeing them again every time they left. Then, when she turned nine, both her parents were on a mission that went south. Both nearly died and decided they couldn't leave her an orphan. After that, they took turns being away from her.

She told me about her dad's love of vintage gadgets, cars and Captain America. She told me of her mom, stern yet playful side. The love for her parents showed in the way she talked about them.

"Yes." I hear her say behind the dressing room door. She'd tried on ten different dresses.

"What?"

"This is it." She announces.

I push off the wall. "Well, let me see it." I say. I don't hear shuffling or the door. "Come on, princess." I want to see this dress.

"Nope." I finally hear from behind the door.

"What?" I can't believe it. She's not going to show it to me? "Why? Come on." I try the door but it's locked.

"You're going to have to wait. I don't want you to see it yet." She calls and I can hear her moving around. She's taking off the dress.

"How am I supposed to pay for a dress if I can't see it?" I demand.

"What? You're not paying for my dress!" She screeches.

"Yes, I am. I invited you and asked you to get a new dress. So, I'm paying." What's her problem? Don't women like when men pay for things.

"I agreed to go and I didn't have to get a new dress. I'm paying for it." She insists. The door swings open and she's carrying a handful of dresses.

I try to look at the ones in her hands, trying to think of which one she'd chosen. She tries to hide them behind her back and then points. I follow her hand and finger. She's pointing to the entrance.

"Wait for me outside while I pay." She instructs. My, she's a bossy little thing.

"You're really not going to let me pay?" I'm completely shocked.

"No." She heads to the counter.

"And I can't see the dress?"

"Go outside." She points again and I turn and walk toward the entrance. She's stubborn.

A couple of minutes later she emerges holding her dress in a gray bag so there's no way I can peak at what she purchased.

I lace my hand with hers and make my way to the department store where I know I'll find a variety of pants, shirts and jackets.

"So, tell me more about the Cavalry?"

She laughs. "If you value your life, don't let her hear you call her that." She warns.

"And why is that?" I'm intrigued. That's a badass way to be known.

She shrugs. "All I know is that she lost someone on that mission. She doesn't talk about it. She hates the name."

I nod. "Still, I imagine you get lots of comparisons to her."

She gives me a sideways glance. "What's with all the questions about my mom?"

"Nothing. I just think she's a great Agent." I answer honestly. I'd looked into her missions. I admired the things she'd done.

"Oh my god. Are you crushing on my mom?" She asks with her mouth hanging open.

"What? No!" Her mom was very attractive.

"Oh my god, you are." She laughs. "Ew. She's my mom. I didn't know you were into older woman?" She accuses while still laughing.

I want to tell her she's crazy. I am not into older women but I also can't deny that I wasn't attracted to her mom when I first heard about her. So, what if I am into strong women?

"Oh my god. I can't stop picturing it now. You with my mom. Ew. Ew." She makes a face. "I'll have you know that my parents are both happy in their marriage."

"Will you stop? You have a sick sense of humor." I finally let out a chuckle because she's blatantly laughing at me now.

"Ok. Sorry. I'm done. I'll just keep an eye on you if you ever meet my mom." She tries one more time and I just shake my head.

"You're sick." But there's no conviction in my voice.

"Ok, so relationships." She says.

"What about them?" I frown.

"Tell me about the ones you've had."

I shake my head. I've told her this. "I don't do relationships. I've gone out on dates but I haven't dated anyone."

"I thought you were going on with Kara." She's searching my eyes as she asks this.

Damn. Kara. "Kara and I have gone out in the past. It's never been serious and we've hooked up but we've both agreed no strings attached." I don't want to talk about Kara with her. My stomach bubbles. I feel guilty as all hell for going to her last night.

She has her thinking face on but doesn't say anything.

"How about you?" I ask.

"One in Communications. Nothing in Operations. Five dates with three guys in the last year and a half." She answers nonchalantly.

"Who were the three guys in Operations?" I ask. I hate the anger crawling up in my veins.

She shrugs. "Two dates each with two guys who are no longer here. They both left the Academy at the end of last year."

She's missing someone. "Who was the third?"

She laughs. "You don't know?"

Obviously or I wouldn't have asked. My anger rises. "Who? He's in our year?"

"Yea."

"Who?"

"If you don't know then it doesn't matter." I stop walking and in turn pull her to a stop as well. I give her a look. I'm not going to ask again. She searches my face again for something. "It was Trip." She finally tells me.

Trip? "Trip. You went out with Trip?" The jealousy and anger the surges through my body is unpleasant. I don't like it and I push it down. When the hell did Trip go out with Skye?

"Yea. It was no big deal."

"When?" I ask. "How many times?"

"I told you it was once. It was at the beginning of my first year here." She explained. "Can we go now?"

"How far did it go?" I'm trying to ease my voice but it sounds serious even to me.

"Are you serious?" She scoffs.

I don't say a word but wait.

"Halfway through the date, we realized how awful the idea was. Trip is one of my best friends. The guy is like a brother to me. Once we acknowledged that there was no romantic chemistry the date turned into a hangout." Her eyes are searching mine again. "He's your roommate and friend. You honestly never talked about this?" She asks.

I begin to walk again and pull her along. "We avoid talking about you altogether. He knows how I feel about you. I have no interest in anything that has to do with you."

It's her turn to stop and she yanks her hand away. "Gee. Thanks for reminding me."

She walks in the direction we were going but her hands are crossed in front of her.

Dammit. My mouth doesn't know when to stay closed. When I found out she and Trip were hanging out last year, I'd warned him not to bring her around or mention her to me. He didn't. It drove me mad to be around her. He didn't know that I didn't want to see them together.

It hadn't stopped me from finding out if they were dating. Everyone I spoke to said they were just good friends. Nobody knew they'd been on a date which is why it's taken me by surprise.

"Fuck. Hey, I'm sorry. Remember, I talk out of my ass sometimes. I don't hate you, princess. It's just been easier to avoid you so I don't get angry." I reach her and pull her by the wrist but I make sure I don't hurt her. "I don't like being angry and I thought you'd be spoiled and privileged. It was easier to think of you that way."

SKYE POV

I'm pathetic. I know I'm pathetic. But I can't stop. He looks apologetic. And we both need to pass this assignment. I nod because I don't trust my voice.

"Ok." He eyes me as he slowly moves his hand from around my wrist and laces his fingers through mine again.

I steel myself from his touch.

"You had a relationship before Operations." He prompts slowly, trying to pull me into our earlier discussion but the atmosphere around us is different now.

I nod. "Miles. We dated a year." Fucking Miles.

I can see out of the corner of my eyes how shocked he is by the news. "A year?" He questions.

I cared about him and the whole relationship was a joke.

"You cared about him?" His voice is clipped but I don't give it a second thought. If I were really stupid, I'd say he was jealous.

"A lot." I can still feel Miles' betrayal.

"What happened?" We arrive at a department store and he leads us to the men's section.

I sigh. Honesty is the best answer. "I found out he was sleeping with my best friend at the time. Her name is Sophie. She never knew I found out. I told him when I finally dumped him."

He looks angry and it makes me feel a little better. "How long was he cheating?"

"Six months—that I know of."

"Six months! With Sophie or others?"

I shrug. "With Sophie…with others too, I think. He didn't know how to keep it in his pants."

We arrive at the men's section and he begins to grab some pants and button-ups. "Hey, princess. Care to help me with these colors? I don't know which dress you ended up with." He calls out.

I smile. I'm not telling him I picked the white one he showed me. I didn't want him to gloat for days. Anything he picks will go with the dress.

He tells me his size and I follow him to the dressing rooms. He takes in some shirts and pants while I wait for him just outside.

"Show me when you're all dressed up, Ken." I tease through the curtain.

"Sure, Barbie." I can hear his smile. "Did you pick this maroon suit?"

I laugh. "Yea. Just try it on."

As he changes, I look through a rack for pants.

"Skye?" I hear my name and look around.

Holy mother of God. We did it. We said Beetlejuice three times and he appeared.

I try to plaster a fake smile on my face. "Miles." I watched him approach and then I stiffen because just behind him is none other than Sophie.

She'd been my best friend all through Communications. I'd told her everything. Shared everything about my relationship with Miles. My hopes, my fears and for six months she'd lied to my face.

"Honey, I think I like these." Sophie calls out coming forward and giving me a once over.

"Skye." She gives me a fake smile and a look that tells me she pity's me. "Well, isn't this nice."

"How have you been?" Miles asks. His look is sad. He reminds me of a puppy. He knew. He knew what had happened to me or at least he knew something had happened to me.

"I'm good. Thanks." I take a deep breath. "How have you guys been?"

"We've been great." Sophie answers. "We just got engaged." She flashes me her ring.

Wow. I don't know what to say.

"What're you doing here? Shopping for your dad?" Sophie still has that fake smile on her face.

I bit down on my tongue. "I'm actually here with my boyfriend." The words kind of just slip out of my mouth. "He's just trying on some things."

Sophie giggles. "Boyfriend? Come on, Skye. You don't have to lie. It's ok."

I want to punch her so bad. My hand is itching for me to throw a punch.

Just then, I hear, "Princess?" and my body calms immediately.

I turn in my spot to see Grant walking out of the dressing rooms looking every bit a Greek God. Hot damn. He looks gorgeous in a suit.

He walks over to me with a genuine looking smile on his face. "What do you think?"

I look him over. "Handsome as always." Again, the words just slip out. Dammit and now I'm blushing. "But I don't like it for Friday."

He frowns and looks down. "No?"

I shake my head. "Too plain."

He laughs and extends his hand. I take it and he pulls me close. "Men are supposed to wear plain. It's the ladies that wear extravagance."

He's so close. My body is covered in goosebumps. "If you say so."

"You're not really going to make me try on different pants and shirts, are you?" He asks and it looks like he wants to pout.

I smile at his discomfort. "If you got to choose my dress, I get to choose what you wear and this ain't it." I give him a look.

"Wait." A small smile appears on his face. "You chose one of the dresses I suggested?" He tries to peak in the small plastic window on the garment bag that I'm carrying my dress in. Dammit, I didn't mean to say that. I pull the bag behind me. "Which one did you pick?"

"I'm not telling you. All you need to know is that this," I point at what he's wearing, "isn't want you're wearing."

"Yes, princess." His eyes meet the ceiling showing he's tired before he's even started.

Someone clears their throat behind us and we both turn.

Wow. For a minute I forgot they were there.

"Sorry." I clear my throat. "This is Miles and Sophie." I gesture with my hand and turn back to Grant. "Miles, Sophie, this is—"

"Nice to meet you." Grant interrupts me. "I'm the boyfriend, Grant Ward." He reaches out to shake their hands and I hold back my laugh at Sophie's expression.

Her eyes are bug-eyed and her mouth drops for a second before she closes it.

Grant keeps me to his left, his arm wrapped around my waist as he shakes both their hands. As Sophie shakes his hand, she looks like he chokes on something. "Did you say Grant Ward?"

We both frown at her. "Yes. That's right." Grant says easily.

Her eyes get bigger.

"Do you know him?" I ask and I can't help but jump to conclusions. Did he sleep with her too?!

"Just of him." Sophie isn't looking at me as she answers. "You're a big deal in Communications." She tells him. "Is it true you're set to pass The Black Widow's scores at the Academy?"

Oh boy. I roll my eyes and can't help but see Grant's ego inflate before my eyes.

"That's the plan." Grant's smile lights up his eyes.

Miles clears his throat. "Are you guys going to Friday nights party?"

"That's what we're here for." I nod.

"Well, I should try the next suit combo on." Grant makes to move.

"It was nice meeting you, Grant." Sophie says sweetly.

Ugh. She's annoying.

"Likewise, maybe we'll see you on Friday." Grant steps back and something makes him stop in his tracks. "Wow. Is that an engagement ring?"

Sophie doesn't skip a beat. She brings up her hand to show off the ring. "Yes."

Grant doesn't hide his surprise. "Wow. Congratulations, I guess." His eyebrows are raised in surprise. Join the party.

"When it's right, it's right." Sophie beams. "I know it hasn't been long—oh Skye, I want to make sure you know that NOTHING happened until after you and Miles broke up." She turns to Grant and continues as I want to bite down on my anger once again. "Poor Miles. One day he and Skye are happy as can be and the next, she disappears for a week with not so much as a phone call. When she comes back, she calls it quits without so much as an explanation."

As she rambles on, I shoot a surprising look at Miles. He didn't tell her. He meets my eyes and I see a caring expression cover his face. As mad as I am at him for what he did to me, I'm grateful he didn't tell my secret to Sophie. She's one of the last people I'd want to knowing about me. I try to convey how grateful I am to him and he gives me a slight nod which I take as you're welcome. Sophie hasn't noticed and I hope Grant hasn't either.

I knew he felt guilty for not realizing I was missing sooner. It spoke a lot about our relationship and at one point I hated him for not telling my parents sooner that I was missing. It would have saved me days of torture. But I'd realized that I couldn't hold it against him. I could have ended things sooner. We were both at fault and blaming him for something like that wouldn't change anything.

"We should go." Miles interrupts her.

They leave after some goodbyes and not some fake "let's stay in touch" comments. Please, like I'd ever spend time with that whore.

"What was that about?" Grant asks as soon as they are gone.

"What?" I ask as I look for more suits for him to try on.

"Where did you disappear to that week and what was that look between you and Miles?" His tone is curious but stern.

"It was nothing." I avoid looking at him.


	3. Chapter 3

GRANT POV

Skye refused to answer any questions about the week Sophie spoke about or the look she and Miles shared.

She basically told me to mind my own business which only pisses me off. We're supposed to be talking about things and being honest.

I tried to forget it and even tried to get on her good side by buying the damn maroon suit she'd picked out. When the hell would I wear a suit that color again? It was ridiculous but I thought if I went along with it then she'd budge on some info. It didn't work.

So, I'm watching her today like a damn stalker. I want to figure out what she's hiding and why she transferred to Operations.

Sophie had made it clear that after the week Skye had gone away, she'd broken up with Miles and then proceeded to transfer to Operations. I knew she hadn't told me the full truth about transferring.

When I'd asked her to dinner, she'd insisted she had to be somewhere at seven and would not change her plans. She refused to let me drive her and instead I dropped her off at her dorm. I didn't think to follow her until later when I tried calling her and texting her with no answer.

"Why are you being such a freak? Who are you watching?" Bobbi's voice snaps me out of watching Skye from across the field.

I turn to look at her and she's looking over my shoulder. Her eyes squint and she must see Skye because she looks back to me.

I shake my head and walk off toward my next class. Bobbi is hot on my trail.

"So, you're seeing Skye?" One downside to Bobbi is that she's tall and keeps up with my stride too easily.

"Where'd you hear that?" I ask not turning to her. Bobbi is good at what we do. She can sniff out a lie and I can't let her know this thing with Skye isn't legit.

"Please." She sounds offended. "I'm not deaf. The whole damn campus is talking about it."

"What?" I stop to turn to look at her. Is she serious?

She sighs. "Ward, she's like the first daughter on campus and well you're—" she rolls her eyes, "well you're you. All you guys have been doing for the past year and a half is fighting. It's been like watching you guys foreplay with all the back and forth. Now that you guys are finally together, everyone is talking."

"Foreplay?" I repeat the word because it sounds disgusting coming from Bob but it plays in my head and I can't help deny that it actually feels that way.

Skye is getting under my skin and I'm not liking it. This is supposed to be an assignment and I'm already in too deep. Can I do two months of this?

"Kara left home last night but she'll be back in time for the party on Friday. Are you going to talk to her about this?" She gives me a threatening look.

"Can we stay on subject please?" I start walking again.

"It is the same subject. This thing you have going on with Skye—you have to tell Kara about it." Bob is always sticking her damn nose where it doesn't belong.

"This thing with Skye is new. We're just hanging out and it has nothing to do with Kara. We're not dating. We both agreed it was physical and nothing else. And it's not really any of your business."

"You're an idiot, Ward. Talk to Kara. This thing with Skye might just be starting out but it just started and by the looks of it you're already in deep."

"What? No way. Kara has nothing to do with this. Yes, this is different. I don't know how to describe it. We're just hanging out." I don't want to say too much to Bob.

"Ward, I just caught you watching her for god sake." She argues.

"It wasn't like that." I don't know what to say to defend myself because even I can't understand why I did it.

"So, what's it like then?" She pushes.

My mouth starts spilling before I can even decide what to say. "We went shopping yesterday and ran into her ex who is now engaged. His fiancé mentioned something about them and she won't tell me what it is. She tells me about everything else and not knowing this particular thing is getting under my skin." I can feel my blood boil again.

We've reached our class and I take a seat.

I watch Bobbi approach slowly. Her mouth is hanging open just slightly and she's quiet for once in her life. I turn back around and wait for the damn instructor to start.

"Ward, you're jealous?" Bob is talking slowly as if not believing her own words.

My head snaps to her and I can see her trying to hide her smile. "What?!" I'm not fucking jealous! I can't be fucking jealous. I just need all the information if I'm going to complete this assignment.

Skye and I are partners and we can't make this work until we have all our cards on the table. This has nothing to do with Miles. His name alone makes the bile rise into my mouth.

"Wow. Grant Ward, jealous. That's something I never thought I'd witness." Bobbie looks straight ahead and shakes her head. "You're already in so deep."

I ignore her as the instructor begins.

Bobbi is wrong. I'm not in deep. I'm not anywhere near being deep. I'm not even in it. She and everyone else is going to see what Skye and I project and nothing else. Maybe it's good that she thinks I'm jealous. The whole point to this is to make everyone believe we're in love.

So why am I fighting this? I refuse to think of an answer to my own question but my mind is split. One side is telling me this is an assignment while the other is screaming at me that Bobbi is right. I treated Skye like trash to hold her at bay. Now that I can't do that, I have nothing to hide behind. I want her. My body craves her.

Yesterday, holding her close in my arms felt right. And then her damn ex had to ruin it by clearing his throat and pulling us out of our bubble.

Fuck. I could do this. I could pretend for two months. Maybe if I let myself fall into this lie for two months it would help. I'd pretend to be her boyfriend, pass the damn assignment, get some damn insight on relationships, maybe get a little action and in the end, I'd walk away. I could make this purely physical. I could get what my body wanted and I could make it pleasurable for her too.

My body jumps up on the seat. Of course. This is the perfect solution. I'll fall into the part. I'll let whatever this is I feel come through and at the end of the two months, I can be done. I can walk away. I can finally get over my damn obsession with Skye because I'll have had her. She's still holding back but I can figure it out. I have time.

I grab my phone out of my pocket and scroll through my contacts until I find her under Princess. I smile and move her number to my favorites list and move her to the top.

**What are you doing tonight?

I stare at my phone waiting for her response to my text. I cross my arms while I wait. I'm getting impatient. Where is she? What is she doing? She doesn't have anything this hour, I already checked her schedule with Trip.

My phone notifies me of her text. Finally!

**It's my short day. I'm off at 2. You?

I roll my eyes. Does this girl know how to answer a question?

**I asked what you were doing tonight not what time you're done with classes.

**I'm open until 7. Why?

What the hell does she have going on at seven today?

**What are you doing at 7?

**Prior appointment.

**You have another boyfriend I should know about?

**Another? Why Ken, I don't believe we're there yet.

I chuckle and realize I've done it so I cough to try to cover it up.

Bobbie shakes her head, smiling. As long as she shuts up about it, I don't care what she thinks.

**And we won't get there, Princess, if you keep disappearing on me at 7. Is this some Cinderella situation where you have to be home by that time? Who is so important you can't cancel on them this one time?

I mean to tease but the last part is not a joke. I want to know who she meets daily. Who is this standing appointment at seven with?

**Nobody special but I can't cancel.

It bugs me that she won't even think about canceling to do something with me.

**Meet me in the northwest parking lot after your last class.

**Don't you have 2 more classes after that?

I smile. So, she knows my schedule too.

**You've been asking around about me, sweetheart?

**Don't flatter yourself. You have class with Trip.

**Just meet me in the parking lot.

**Fine. Where are we going?

**Don't worry about it. You dressed casual?

**No, I'm wearing an evening gown. Of course, I'm dressed casual!

**Nobody likes a smartass.

**Says you. I work hard on my smarts and my ass. People seem to like it. 😉

**It is one nice piece of ass.

I don't get a response and I can't help but laugh out loud. I can feel heads turn and people staring. Fuck it. I don't care, I don't pretend to hide my amusement this time.

I look back to my phone but I don't get another text for the remainder of class. One more class and then I can meet Skye.

As soon as class is done, I turn to Bobbi.

"I need your help." I don't want to ask but I'm completely lost on what to do with Skye. I just know I want to see her today. I've got nothing planned and no idea where I want to take her.

Bobbi doesn't hide her smile but also doesn't comment. "What do you need?" I'm grateful she's keeping her thoughts to herself.

"Skye and I went to dinner on Monday and went to the mall yesterday. I'm seeing her later and I don't know what to do with her. Any ideas?"

"Let me get this straight," she stares me down, "this would be the third day in a row that you are seeing her and you expect people to believe this isn't serious?" She's amused. "Hm."

"I don't need your opinion on the matter. Are you going to help me or not?" I demand.

"Fine but I'm telling you, you better talk to Kara." She gives me a look before she starts walking and I catch up.

"Drop that shit. I'm done talking about Kara." I can't help but snap. "Never mind, I'll figure this shit out on my own."

I walk off toward the gym. I have weights for an hour and I'd skip this class too if it weren't for the fact that we have an endurance test at the end of it.

I get on my phone and google things to do on a date and feel like a damned fool. I skip through the bullshit movie ideas and dinner. I see one for a picnic. Who the fuck does picnics anymore?

I close the window and google things to do in my area. There's a putt putt place nearby that has go-carts, boat rides, batting cages and an arcade. Luckily it has a food court. I save the address and check the maps. It's not too far from here.

SKYE POV

I keep checking the last text I got from him.

**It is one nice piece of ass.

My cheeks flush. "Get your shit together, Skye." I tell myself for the hundredth time since receiving that message.

I was at a loss for words and didn't respond anything. Usually, I'm quick on my feet and can dish it right back but that text—damn. Did he mean it? Was he checking out my ass? I work my ass off on a daily basis to stay in shape.

I don't keep in shape for looks. My life will depend on my strength, my speed and endurance. I can't slack off and I have two years of physical work before I catch up to everyone. My body still fights me every time I work out.

I've always been slim. I have a fast metabolism. That isn't my problem. My problem is that I'm a lazy person—at least in the sense that I don't like working out. But being in Operations meant I had to push my body. I could still remember when I first started training. I was so weak. I couldn't run past a mile; I couldn't do a pull-up and my abs screamed if I tried to do more than twenty crunches. I was in bad shape and I wasn't going to be like that again.

If I'd had training before like my mother had insisted, while in high school, maybe I wouldn't have been taken. Maybe I would have been able to fight back. Maybe I wouldn't have been kept for six days before they found me. Maybe I could have helped myself. Maybe I could have protected myself.

"Let me get a round with her. I can make her talk." Uncle John's voice echoes in my head and I turn in a circle, expecting to see him. My heart rate accelerates and my breathing becomes shallow.

No. I shake my head. I'm not there. I'm ok. I'm at the Academy. I'm ok. He's not here. I'm safe. I'm safe.

But it doesn't seem to work. My surroundings are blurring and I can see Uncle—no! Not Uncle John. He wasn't my Uncle. He'd played all of us. He didn't deserve the title.

I close my eyes and start my breathing techniques. I have to stop thinking about it. I cause these damn flashbacks myself. Just block it out. Block it out.

I focus on my breathing and open my eyes. I focus on my surroundings. I listen to the birds flying overhead. I listen to the cars in the parking lot and the people walking by.

"More! More water!" His voice is getting further away but I still tremble. His voice always brings on my worst nightmares.

STOP! STOP! I'm safe. I'm safe. I start paying attention to the colors on a girl's bag and zero in on the different shades.

My head is clearing. My surroundings have nearly erased all the bad memories.

Two hands grab me by the waist in a ticklish way. "Hey, Princess. You ready?" Grant's voice is near my ear and I feel goosebumps run up my arms.

I feel my body relax. My mind is fully in the present and immediately I breathe easier.

"What's wrong?" He comes around me with a frown on his face.

I genuine smile appears on my face. "Nothing. I'm ready." I assure him. "Where are we going?"

He gives me that slanted smile I love so much and laces his fingers with mine. "It's a surprise."

I allow him to pull me along.

"I didn't take you for a surprise kind of guy." I tease.

"I'm not." He laughs. "To be honest, it started off as a surprise to me too as I had no idea what we were going to do."

"And I take it you found something to do." I smile as he opens his door for me.

I climb in and put my seat belt on as he comes around.

"I did." He confesses as he pulls out of the parking space.

"Mhm. And what is it?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want you complaining if you don't want to do it." He smiles as he drives.

I relax in my seat and roll my eyes. "Why would you assume I'd complain? I'm a fun girl. I like doing stuff."

"Can I please just have this?" He requests and looks over at me. His eyes twinkle from his smile and I can't help but think that I'd agree to anything if he'd keep looking at me like this.

"Fine. Fine." I look out the window and try to think of where he could possibly be taking me. "Are we going to the movies?"

I love watching movies but we wouldn't be able to talk if we went there.

He chuckles. "Is this you letting me have this?"

I smile, staying quiet. But after a couple of minutes, I can't help myself. "I don't like surprises. How far are we going?"

He sighs. "It's not far. We'd get there a lot faster if I didn't keep hitting all these red lights." He complains.

"Ooh. Fun. Here." I pull out my tablet from my book bag and open a series of systems.

"What are you doing?" He asks intrigued.

I go to where I need to go and hack my way into the city. "Ok. Tell me where you need us to go and I'll make sure all we get are greens." I look at the traffic light on my tablet and turn to Grant.

"What?!" He turns in his seat to look at me, a shocked expression on his face.

I grin. "Come on. I haven't hacked anything in months. This'll be fun."

He shakes his head but smiles. "We need to go straight for the next three blocks before making a left on Pecan Rd."

I smile as I pull up the streets on my screen and change the lights. I look up and sure enough, the light has turned green.

"Impressive." He says and I feel shy and proud all at the same time.

We haven't gone five blocks before I'm kicked out of the system and my phone rings. The call is answered after one call and the speaker is turned on.

"Hacking into the city is against the law." Tony's voice comes out of my phone and I grin. "And it's against our agreement. We said hacking was fine if it was a life and death situation, young lady."

I laugh. "Hi, Tony."

"Who is that?!" Grant has a panicked look on his face.

"Hello—Grant Ward." Tony sounds like he's busy. "Oh, let's take a look here. Uh huh. Ahead of everyone at the Academy. Strong references from Agent Hand and Agent Hartley." Grant's eye bug out of his head. Tony keeps mumbling facts about Grant.

"Ok, Tony. That's enough." Poor Grant. I didn't want to scare him off. "If I don't get to hack then you can't either."

"I'm just checking who you're with, sweetheart. Keeping an eye on you for Phil." Tony dismisses my warning.

"Bye, Tony." I shake my head.

"Take care, kid. Behave." Tony says before I hang up.

I knew I shouldn't have accepted this damn phone and tablet from him. He probably had Jarvis installed on them to keep track of everything I did.

I growl in frustration. Why hadn't I thought of that sooner?

"Who the hell was that?" Grant still looks upset.

"Sorry. That was Tony."

He looks at me and shakes his head and raises his shoulders, "Who?"

"Tony Stark." I answer with a grimace.

Grant's eyes nearly pop out of his face. "Ton—Tony Stark—Iron Man?!" He raises his hand to his head like he can't believe it. "Iron Man just looked up my profile."

"I'm going to need a new phone and a new tablet. Dammit. And I just got done putting all my systems on it." I complain and pout.

"What the hell just happened, Skye?" Grant demands. He still looks like he's about to lose his shit. "Tony Stark just called and knew my name."

"I'm sorry." I mean it. "He probably got notified that I hacked into the traffic lights and looked up traffic cameras to see who I was with and got an ID on you." I explain.

Grant pulls up to the parking lot of a putt putt place and I smile. I haven't been miniature golfing in over a year.

"Focus, Princess. What happened?" His voice draws me back to him.

"I met Tony when my dad started keeping track of him. Director Fury had me hack my way into Stark Tower to get my dad in. Tony was impressed that we were able to hack our way in. He was even more impressed when he found out it was me. For a while, he played a game with me. He'd set up a system and have me hack it. He was challenging me but at the same time, learning what he could improve on by having me hack it. When I—" damn, I almost say something I shouldn't, "I transferred to Operations, Fury and my dad told him to keep me from hacking. So, he keeps tabs on me to keep me out of trouble."

He nods. "How much do you think he found out about me?"

I laugh. "He's probably still looking. Tony has become like an Uncle. He jokes that if he could, he'd adopt me. I promise he won't contact you and won't use anything against you. I'll call him to warn him off."

"Warn him off?" He looks a little worried.

"He's protective." I explain. "Can we go in now?" I ask sweetly. "I very much like my surprise and I want to go in."

That gets me a smile. "Come on, Princess. I don't want The Black Widow and Hawkeye showing up next."

I smile. "You don't want to meet them?"

"I do but not if they're going to threaten me away from you." He climbs out and comes around to open my door.

"They couldn't even if they tried." I answer him feeling shy.

He laces his fingers with mine. "What do you want to do first?"

"Putt putt." I answer immediately. "Then go-carts. And if we have time then we can hit the arcade."

He nods and leads us to the front door.

I'm amazed at how easy it is to hang out with him. We don't fight and actually have a good time. He makes me laugh even when he doesn't try. He's weirdly sweet.

"You hungry?" He asks after go-carts.

"I can go for a burger." I only now realize how hungry I am.

We both pig out at the food court. We each order a burger with fries and then share nachos. This food is so good and fattening. Good thing I'll be burning most of these calories off later.

"I'm going to go get a game card and load it while you finish these nachos." He announces as he gets up.

I grab his arm. "Can we get tokens instead please." I plead with my best puppy eyes.

He chuckles. "Whatever you want, sweetheart." He walks off and I don't know if I like hearing sweetheart more than I like when he calls me princess now.

"Leave me alone." I hear a small voice come from behind me.

I turn to see a small looking kid surrounded by some teenagers in a corner booth. One of the teenagers is barely sitting down. The kid cowards.

One of the teenagers grab his drink and pour it over his food.

Asshole! I stand up and make my way over. After a closer look, I can tell the kid is not a kid just a small teenager.

GRANT POV

It's cute that Skye makes fun of her dad for being old school but she's a lot like him. Nobody I know would pick tokens over a game card.

I look up and she's not sitting in the table I left her in. My eyes scan the food court and I find she's standing over some teenagers in a corner table. She looks pissed.

I stride over quickly.

"Do you get off acting like you're big and strong? I dare any of you to try it with me. Come on." She dares them. "You chicken?"

What the hell did I just walk up to? I'm shocked to see her lean over one of the kids. Is she really egging on a teenager?

"Skye?" I need to know what the hell is going on and calling her princess or sweetheart might set her off right now.

I can see her body react to me but she doesn't turn to look at me.

"We were just messing around." One of the bigger boys looks ashamed.

"Yea, bitch. Mind your own business." A cocky looking one growls out and I see red.

"What the fuck did you just call her?" I step forward to stand closer to the kid who said it. I'm not stupid enough to hit a kid but I could frighten him a little.

Skye places a hand on my chest. I think she's telling me to ease up. She finally looks up to me and I can see her telling me to keep calm.

I nod. "What's going on?" I ask her calmly.

She turns back to them. "These three were just being assholes and ganging up on him." She points to the smaller kid who looks like he wants to be swallowed by the earth.

Jeez. She's not making this easier on him. But without realizing it, I'm smiling. Just like Skye, to jump in and try to protect someone and bring justice.

"If you want to act tough, why not do it on your own?" She asks them. "You really feel badass when you have two others behind you? Grow up. There's enough hate and shit in the world without you guys adding to it. He—" she points to the smaller kid, "might not always be that small. He might one day be your boss or someone with authority. You don't want to piss him off."

Three kids get up and walk off, mumbling under their breath.

"You ok?" I ask the kid who's still in his seat. His food is covered in what looks to be soda.

He nods. "Yea. I'm fine."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you or anything. They just pissed me off." She apologizes.

The kid shrugs.

"They mess with you on the regular?" I ask him.

He nods again and I sigh. I reach for my wallet and pull out Hunter's business card.

"A friend of mine runs a training camp. Call him up and tell him Ward sent you." I hand over the card and the kid takes it. "He can teach you how to defend yourself."

The kid shakes his head. "My mom won't be able to afford it."

"Don't worry about it. It'll be on the house." I assure him. I'm going to need to call Hunter after this and set up payment for the kid.

The kid's eye bug out. "Really?"

I nod and Skye gives him a wide smile.

"Thanks." He gives us a goofy grin.

"No problem." I tell him and look over to Skye. "You ready, princess?"

She nods and waves goodbye to him and we head to the arcade.

I let her lead me to a game she wants to play and she takes the tokens. Our hands drop from each other as she inserts the tokens to play.

"That was really kind of you." She tells me. Her voice is full of emotion.

I roll my eyes. "It wasn't a big deal."

Her eyes soften. "It was to him—" she reaches for my hand and squeezes it, "and me."

I suddenly feel shy and I nod and look away. I don't know what to say to that. I hadn't done anything. She's the only who'd marched her little ass over to the kid and faced his bullies.

We quickly run out of tokens and take our winning tickets to a counter where after spending twenty-five dollars, we leave with a string bracelet, some glow in the dark stickers and a bouncy ball.

Skye, of course, keeps everything, saying I'd never use any of the items. She's not wrong. I drop her off at her dorm and we say goodnight. I hold back and wait for her. I'm going to find out where she goes tonight.

I follow her to an MMA Gym and I'm super confused. What the hell is Skye doing here? I wait for her to go in and when she doesn't immediately come back out, I jump to conclusions.

What if she is seeing somebody else? Is she meeting some guy here? Is she seeing some MMA guy? I jump out of my seat and enter.

I breathe easier when I see her one on one with a male instructor. He's encouraging her as she's jumping rope.

I walk around, still watching her but making sure I blend in with everyone.

"Hey, you thinking about joining?" A guy comes up to me.

I nod. "Yea. Looking into a new place to train." I answer.

He talks to me about the training they do and instructors. I nod and ask questions, all the while keeping an eye on Skye.

I meet a couple of guys and they ask me questions only someone who practices mixed martial arts would understand. They're making sure I belong and I answer all their questions.

"You know Skye?" One of them asks. All the guys look toward her and back to me.

Fuck. How do I answer this without looking like a creep? "Yea. I didn't know she came here. I'll have to ask her how she likes it."

They nod and the guy who asked me about her gives her a once over. My blood boils. I see the hunger in his eyes and I want to knock him out.

"She doesn't take shit from any of the guys. We only have a handful of women who come through here. She's a goddamn beast."

"How many times does she come?" I ask masking my anger.

"Shit. Skye?" He raises his eyebrows. "She's here every Tuesday and Wednesday." He doesn't stop watching her.

"She's here Friday's too, bro." The guy next to me chimes in.

"Shit. For real?" The guy who is still eyeing her says.

I look from them to Skye. "What is she here for?"

"Tuesday's, she does Jiu-Jitsu. Today is Muay Tai and Kickboxing." Asshole answers. "Yo, Dave. What does she do Friday's?"

Dave, the guy standing next to me answers, "Wrestling with Hughes."

I look back to my girl. My girl? Where the fuck did that come from? She's keeping up. Fuck. I couldn't be more impressed with her if I wanted to.

I watch her body closely and I see the control—the full control she has over it. I feel like an ass. For a year and a half, I'd been giving Skye a hard time about not belonging. She was the hardest working student at the Academy. Myself included.

I say my goodbyes and exit. I pull my phone and call Bobbi. What else was I wrong about when it came to Skye.

"What's up?" Bobbie answers after the third ring.

"I'm coming over." She's going to help me whether she likes it or not.

"Ok. What do you need?" She asks.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be there in twenty." I hang up and race to her dorm.

I don't knock when I arrive, just let myself in.

"A knock would be nice." She throws a pillow at me and I catch it before it makes contact with my face. "What do you want?"

"I need you to hack SHIELD files and get me Skye's." I flop down on her bed and grab her laptop.

"You are insane. I am not hacking into SHIELD and getting you her file." She looks at me like I've lost my mind.

I open the laptop and hand it to her without saying a word. She's going to do this.

"Why do you need to look at her file?" She snatches the laptop and sits next to me on her bed.

"I've been wrong about a lot of things when it comes to Skye. I don't like being wrong. I need to know what it says." I'm not going to give her more than that.

"You're insane. You're turning into a stalker. If you want to know something about Skye, just ask her. This is not the way you get to know someone if you're dating." Bobbie gives me a serious look.

"Come on, Bob. I just want to know her schedule, how she's been doing and if it says why she transferred. I won't use anything against her. If we see something personal, we'll just skip it. I promise I'm not looking for personal information." I don't like asking more than once.

Something about what I said or what I look like changes her mind and she nods. "Fine. But we're doing this fast and we're not reading anything personal."

I nod and she begins her hack. She's not the best but she does well in these kinds of things. I could do it myself but it would take me hours. I'm not the greatest when it comes to hacking.

She's frowning a lot and looks super confused.

"What's wrong?" I lean forward and try to look at the screen.

"That's weird. Student files are easy to access since we're not real Agents yet. Any SHIELD level should give me access to her file but I can't do it." She continues her work.

I'm beginning to lose patience.

"Got it." She says about ten minutes later.

I'm leaning on her shoulder to look at the screen.

Skye's file is along with her picture. In big bold red letters, I read "ACTIVE SECURITY DETAIL" and the screen flashes red "ACCESS DENIED" and the system turns off.

"What just happened?" I ask Bobbi.

"Shit. I was kicked out of the system." Bobbi turns to me. "Ward. Something is going on. Skye's file wasn't accessible without at least a level 8 clearance. Her file is so protected it's being watched. As soon as we gained access it threw us off."

My phone rings. I look at the number but it's blocked. I look at Bobbi. Her eyes round and her mouth is hanging open in shock. I can now say I've seen Bobbi scared.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Grant Ward." The voice of Tony Stark comes in loud and clear.

Fuck.


	4. Chapter 4

SKYE POV

I walk out of my dork and head to class with an extra pep in my steps and I refuse to believe it's because I woke up to a text from Grant.

**Morning, Princess. Meet me for lunch. I'll meet you at the quad by the fountain.

He's so demanding. It wasn't even a request. Ugh. Annoying, annoying, annoying, but why am I smiling like an idiot. I don't like being told what to do…usually. Ok…so, I do want to see him for lunch.

By lunch, my stomach is filled with butterflies. I don't know why I'm so excited. Grant and I have spent all week together. What makes this so special?

I walk to the quad and see him already sitting on a table near the fountain. I take a deep breath and walk over.

He turns when he hears me approach and a smile appears on his face. He's so fucking handsome it makes me sick.

"Hey, princess. Thanks for meeting me."

I sit across from him and give him a look. "I didn't know I had an option, seeing as you told me and didn't ask."

"You haven't had a problem telling me no before." He reminds me, cocking one eyebrow.

"True." I smile and look at the bag next to him. "What'd you bring? I'm starving."

He pulls sandwiches out of the bag as well as a small lunch pail. I eye him curiously as he unzips it. Inside there's a tub of potato salad and two sodas. I also notice some icepacks at the bottom and I try to hide my amusement.

"What?" He raises one of his eyebrows.

"You brought a picnic." I feel like I'm witnessing a miracle.

He looks down at the food. "This isn't a picnic. I just happen to like sandwiches and potato salad….and we just happen to be outside."

I know this is annoying him so I don't say anything. I nod and press my lips together.

"Shut up." He grumbles but I can see a hint of a smile on his face.

A small chuckle escapes me. "Sorry. Sorry. Thank you. This looks delicious."

We eat our lunch slowly. I have a two-hour gap between classes today. I can't help but feel people look as they walk by.

I avoid the looks as much as possible. Conversation between Grant and me comes easy. Now that we are getting along, the conversation just flows.

"My time is almost up. I have to be in class in about ten minutes." He tells me as he takes his final bite of potato salad.

I nod. I really wanted to hang out with him some more.

"Do you want to meet me by the car at five later?" He's wiping his mouth with a napkin and gathering all the trash. He's not looking at me and I can't help but smile for the millionth time today.

"Is that a request or a demand?" I tease.

"I made it sound like a request but you caught me. It's more of a demand." He smiles as he gets up. He dumps our trash in the bin that's near the table.

I roll my eyes. "Just because we're doing this, it doesn't mean we have to see each other every day." I tell him because I don't want him to know just how much I want to. "People can go a day or two without seeing each other and still be going out."

He raises his eyebrow at me. "Does this mean you don't want to see me later today?"

Instead of answering, I dodge the question. "I'm busy at seven." I remind him.

He looks surprised. "What are you doing today?"

I shrug. "I'm actually just hanging out with Bobbi." I admit. Trip couldn't meet me in the gym today so I'd made plans to go with Bobbi.

He shrugs. "It's only Bobbi. Ditch her."

"I'm not ditching Bobbi. I'm the one who asked her to hang out." I protest.

"Come on, Princess." He begs, "I actually planned something for us to do." This time he pouts and I laugh.

I try to look away from the look but I can't. I groan. I can't skip going to the gym. "I really need to put in these gym hours." I whine.

"That's all you're doing?" He shakes his head and pulls out his phone. He brings the phone up to his ear and I wait confused.

What was he doing?

"What are you doing?" I come around to stand next to him.

"Bobbi. Hey, Skye and I are hanging out tonight so she can't make it to the gym." He says and my mouth drops.

What the hell is he doing?!

"Great. We will." He says and then hangs up his phone.

"Are you serious?" Anger fills my voice. "You can't just do that. You can't change my plans for me. I haven't even agreed to hanging out with you." Damn him.

He shakes his head slowly and his shoulders drop. I can tell he's not taking me seriously. "Princess, it's just Bobbi. Come on. Just go with me. I promise what I'm planning will fulfill your gym time." He's trying to rope me in. "Come on." He's giving me puppy dog eyes.

No. I want to stay mad at him. Why does he have so much control over me? I can feel the fight creep out of me.

I can tell he sees the fight leave my body and he grins that damn lopsided smile.

"I don't like you doing that. Don't change my plans again. They're my plans." I tell him defeated.

He puts two fingers up. "Scouts honor." He promises.

I lean my head back.

"I promise you'll be hot, dirty and sweaty by the time we're done." His voice pulls my attention back.

I snap my eyes at him. He steps up and kisses me on the forehead before turning and walking away. I watch him leave and curse at myself.

My phone dings and I pull it out of my pocket.

**See you at 5, princess. 😉

I feel my blush. Damn him. "Get your shit together, Skye." I tell myself.

**Do I need to change?

I look down at my outfit. I'm in jeans and a short Tee.

**Gym wear. I'm going to push you today.

What the hell does that mean?

If I hurry to my room, I can change and get ready and still make it to class on time. I grab my book bag and hurry off to do just that.

WARD POV

Thank God Skye got over her anger as fast as she did. I didn't see the big deal. I was only canceling her plans with Bobbi. It wasn't like she was hanging out with Tony Stark at seven or The Black Widow.

I wince thinking of Tony Stark. He'd questioned me last night for over half an hour about my intentions with Skye and then about looking up her file. I didn't want her knowing about it so I'd asked him not to say anything for her. The only reason he'd agreed was because I'd asked him about the security detail that was on her file.

He hadn't taken that with ease and threatened my life. I told him I didn't intend on telling Skye anything but I wanted to know if everything was ok. He'd told me and it was only on her file if she was ever away from the Academy and because her father was overprotective. I didn't believe him for a second but I let it go.

Bobbi had of course given me a mouthful herself and warned me she better not be in any kind of trouble. She eased up once I told her that she hadn't come up in our conversation.

In the time I'd been on the phone with Mr. Stark, I'd received a message from Hunter about going out this weekend and I ended up calling him about the kid at the arcade. He agreed to help and as he talked about what he could do for the kid, I thought about Skye.

I figured she'd like his place and this way I could see her in action. I'd avoided watching her for too long. It was time I saw what my girl was made of.

Dammit. I really need to stop thinking of her as mine. Two months. I've got two months with her and then we're done.

"You keep talking about this guy. I still haven't met him yet." I remember Bobbi asking about Hunter as she'd walked me to her door.

"Yea. There's a reason for that." I had told her.

She had leaned her hand on her hip. "Is that because he sounds like a total asshole? And it might not go well for him if we meet?"

I shook my head again, thinking of Bob and Hunter in the same room. Hunter was an arrogant, wise-ass, who didn't know when to shut the hell up. He'd definitely give Bob a run for her money or the other way around.

It was different with Skye. I couldn't wait for her and Hunter to meet. I couldn't wait to see what her reaction to his place would be.

Just spending time with her this week, I knew she'd see it as a challenge. I couldn't wait to see her excitement.

Five took forever to arrive but when it did, I raced to my Jeep.

She's already leaning on my passenger door when I arrive. She greets me with a smile.

Damn. I try not to look at her too closely. She was wearing the tightest, black gym leggings and a loose sweatshirt that came down her shoulder. The sweatshirt did nothing to cover the sports bra she was wearing underneath and it did wonderful things for her breasts.

As I approach my damn dick stirs.

"Where are we off to today?" She beams at me.

I smile as I hit the unlock button on my keys. I open her door and wait for her to hop in. I close the door behind her and make my way around.

"Well?" She asks again. She doesn't do surprises well.

"Calm down, Princess. I promise you'll enjoy it." I focus on driving and try not to feel her presence in the car. I could feel a charge in the air between us.

I was itching to kiss her and hold her in my arms. I could do it now, I had an excuse. This assignment wasn't too bad if I could use it to hide the fact of how bad I wanted her. Maybe I wouldn't hate her at the end of this. Maybe my dislike of how she grew up would fade in the next two months.

"Can I at least get a hint?" She didn't let things go.

I roll my eyes. "Sweetheart, can't you just enjoy the surprise?"

I have no control over my hand when it reaches for hers. I'm in more shock when she laces her fingers with mine.

Holy shit. Does she know she's doing it or is it like me? We're like magnets.

"Ugh." She groans. "Fine. I'll try to enjoy it."

"Promise?" I ask her with a grin.

She rolls her eyes. "Promise."

I try not to think about our hands. I'm making it a bigger deal than it needs to be.

Twenty minutes later, I pull into Hunter's Place and smile over at Skye. She's eyeing the building with confusion. It makes sense the place is a huge warehouse. She can't know what's inside.

She's been bouncing in her seat and had kept her lips between her lips as not to ask any questions. I'm surprised she'd kept her promise. She looks uneasy and a bit worried.

I turn the jeep off and circle it to open her door. I'm glad she's used to it now and doesn't ask me about it anymore.

I honestly don't know why I do it. Maybe it stuck when Izzy told me to do it before my first date. She and Vic had sat me down and talked to me about do's and don'ts in dating. Apparently opening and closing doors had stuck.

I hold Skye's hand as I lead her to the front doors.

"Grant, where are we?" She asks looking at the building once more and then at the big windows. The windows were dark. You couldn't see inside until late at night and the lights were on the inside.

I smile. "My friend Hunter owns it."

"It?" She asks. "Have you brought me here to murder me?" I knew she meant it as a joke but I can hear the underline wave of fear in her voice.

It makes me stop in my tracks. Where the hell did that come from? I frown at her. She looks frightened although she's trying to hide it. Why would she be frightened? And why would she think I want to hurt her.

"Princess, are you ok?" I only ask before her eyes look wider than usual and I can see them glossing over. She's here but it's like she isn't.

She doesn't answer me and her eyes shut closed. She holds them this way for a minute. They're tightly closed and I can feel her body temperature change.

Her hand that is laced with mine starts to tremble and it's clammy. She starts mumbling something to herself and slightly rocking back and forth.

I stand frozen. I'm in shock. She's having a panic attack.

I squeeze her hand and her eyes pop open to look at me. She looks surprised and confused to see me and the look in her eyes flattens me.

I can see her eyes slowly focus on me.

Holy shit. What's happened to her? We've been trained in this. She's having more than a panic attack. She's being triggered. Holy shit. Holy shit. Skye has PTSD.

From what?! What the fuck happened?!

"Sweetheart?" This is my go-to term for her after princess but I take a deep breath. "Skye?" I try again and see her eyes become clearer. "Take a deep breath for me. Can you do that?"

She nods slowly.

"Good." I take her other hand and place it on my chest. "Focus. Feel my breathing. Breath with me, Princess. It's just me. I got you."

She mimics my even breaths and I hope she's not focusing on my heart rate because I'm working on slowing it down.

After a couple of minutes, her breathing is evening out but I can still feel her trembling.

"Talk." She finally pushes out of her lips.

"What?" I'm not sure I heard her right.

"Talk. Say anything. Talk." She urges me. Her voice sounds heavy.

She needs me to ground her. I don't know where she went but she didn't completely fall into her attack because she still has control over her body.

I want to apologize and I want to know what the hell happened to give her PTSD but I have to help her. I take a deep breath first. "We're at my friends' place. His name is Hunter. He does work with the government and police." I begin to explain. "But this place is also open to the public. It's meant to train people going into service or the police academy. He has obstacle courses inside. Think of it as an indoor mud run. That's why it looks like a warehouse. It's a type of gym but not a typical one."

Her eyes become more focused and I see the color come back to her face.

I drop my hand that is holding hers to my chest and pull out my phone. I open up my pictures and place the phone in her hand. She turns her wrist but leaves the back of her hand pressed against my heart. She uses her thumb to flip through pictures I've taken with Hunter inside. She might land on a video soon.

She looks back to me and nods. I stay quiet. I want to make sure she's ok first.

"We don't have to go inside. I can take you back to your dorm." I tell her after she's given me my phone back and has dropped her hand from my chest.

She shakes her head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't." I tell her. I bite down my anger. I can't show it to her or she'll panic. Why in the hell would she apologize? She'd done nothing wrong.

"I trust you." She said evenly. "But can you—can you step back and give me some room." She takes a deep breath. "I need to open the door myself and see inside. But you can't be near me." She explains and my heart breaks for her.

This was more than something happening to her. Someone had done something to her. I grip my hands and nod as I step off to the side.

I was going to kill them. Whoever the fuck had done something to her, I was going to find out who they were and I was going to kill them. She fucking had PTSD because of them.

I'd been a total asshole to her. I'd made fun of her over this. I thought she was acting spoiled wanting to know everything. She had a trigger and I had pushed her.

The anger has pulled bile up from my stomach. It's taking all of me to hold the anger—the rage, at bay. I have rage and hatred running through my veins. I hate the person who did this to her. I hate myself for being a pain to Skye for so long when she was already dealing with so much. But I was also angry at her. I was angry at her for not telling me about her trigger. She didn't want me or anyone to know about her PTSD, that much was obvious.

But she hadn't been honest with me and I had set her off with my ignorance. I would have to make her tell me if she had any other triggers. This would not happen again.

I watch carefully as she opens the front door and peers inside. Her shoulders sag and she sighs, almost in relief.

I wait for her to tell me it's ok before I move. I walk to her side slowly so I won't scare her.

"I'm ok. Really." She tries to convince me. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing." I'm calmer now and she nods.

She gasps when she walks into the building and takes the place in.

"We don't have to stay. We can go." Shit. Maybe this was a bad idea.

She turns to me with the biggest grin she's ever given me. "Are you kidding? This is amazing!" She goes further into the building and looks around.

"Ward, you ol' shit!" Hunter calls out and I turn to see him coming out of his office.

I shake my head. He's a real pain in the ass but for some reason, he's one of my favorite people.

"Hunter, it hasn't been long enough." I reply and we laugh.

"How you been?" Hunter reaches me and we shake hands. He gives me a pat on my back and turns to Skye. "You must be the beautiful, Skye. Nice to finally meet you, sweetheart."

"It's nice to meet you too, Hunter." Skye greets and offers her hand to shake.

Hunter shakes it. "I feel like I know you, love. Ward's been going on about you for—"

"I brought Skye to check this place out. I thought she'd get a kick out of your course. You have anyone available to do the run?" I ask, interrupting him before he gave anything away about how long I'd been talking about her to him.

"We're booked. But I can spot you. We have an extra medic on hand today." Hunter starts walking to the end of the building and waves us to follow.

I hesitate as I watch Skye. She just offers me a smile.

"You sure about this?" I ask her.

She nods. "I've always wanted to do one of these." She sounds giddy.

"Ok. Let's do this." I hold out my hand and she laces her fingers with mine and we go after Hunter.

The obstacles in the course are a tire run, followed by a makeshift mud crawl under some wire, followed by a rope climb. After that, there are two wall structures, a cargo net and a shallow mud pit ending with a slide.

The course tests your endurance, strength, and spirit. I was looking forward to seeing how far Skye would get.

"Ok, love." Hunter talks to Skye. "We can help you anytime you need it. Let us know if you're overheating, not feeling good or need something to drink. We can time you if you want or we can just see how far you can make it."

Skye looks over at me. "I'm not competing against you, am I?"

I chuckle. "We're here to have some fun, Princess. I don't think it'd be fun to crush and humiliate you while we do this."

Skye's jaw drops. "Crush and humiliate?" She's cocking her eyebrow. "Ok. Game on, Grant Ward. Game on."

I walk in front of her so that we are face to face. "No, Princess." I shake my head. I need to make sure she knows we're here to have fun and nothing else. "We are here to have fun. I was teasing. I am not going to let you push yourself. We're here to have fun. No competing." I'm not going to let her push herself when she just had a panic attack.

I can see she's surprised by my statement. I also realize how close we're standing.

She swallows and nods. Can she feel the energy between us too?

"Ok. Just fun." She agrees as I step back.

I make sure my shoes are tied correctly and she pulls the sweatshirt over her head and hands it to Hunter. Holy shit, she should have left it on.

Her sports bra in fucking sexy. Her outfit hugs her tight and shows off all her goddamn curves. As I force my eyes away, I catch Hunter checking her out.

I slap the back of his head. "Hey, put your eyes back in your sockets. Let's do this."

Fucking Hunter. Jealousy and anger soared through my body and I wanted nothing more than punch his cocky looking face.

"Ok, mate. Don't get your panties in a twist. Let's get started." Hunter turns to Skye, "You need anything before we start, love?"

I hate that he calls her that.

"I just need to stretch and I'm good to go." She smiles.

After about ten minutes of stretching and getting ready, we're good to go.

SKYE POV

I can't believe I had a panic attack because of my damn PTSD. I'm going to have to talk to Dr. Turner about it this weekend.

I don't know what I'm going to tell Grant because I know he's going to ask me questions about it. He knew. I could see it in his face when he pulled me from my memories. The outside of this building was like the warehouse I'd been dragged to.

The warehouse I'd been kept for almost a week. Where I had been drugged and tortured by a man I had considered my uncle.

I push my thoughts away and focus on the task at hand. I wanted to do this course. It looked to be a challenge and that was exciting. I was determined to have fun. Grant had once again given me such a beautiful surprise.

He'd been right to cancel my work out session with Bobbi tonight. After this, I wasn't going to be able to do much else.

Hunter gives me a rundown of all the obstacles and I focus on what he tells me. We're ready to start and I dive into the course. Heart, mind, soul, and body are all focused on this course. I listen to Hunter when he tells me to try it this way and that.

I want to laugh but I have no breath for it. I'm determined to get through this whole thing. I push myself. I use every part of my body and in the end, Grant and I are done in forty minutes.

I feel wonderful. Every bit of my body aches but it's a good ache. The ache reminds me that I'm here and that I'm alive.

I throw myself at Grant once we're done. We're muddy and sweaty but I don't care.

When I throw myself at him, he catches me.

"Thank you." I say bravely into his neck.

His arms are holding me off the ground. He holds me tight around my waist.

"You're welcome." He returns into my neck and my whole body tingles.

"Alright, break it up." Hunter rudely interrupts us and bursts my bubble. "The showers are through there. I'll have someone grab you guys some robes while your clothes are power washed and dried."

Grant sets me on the ground gently and backs away. We head over to the showers; each going our separate ways and get into our robes.

When I come out of the showers, Grant is already waiting for me. Hunter stands next to him, holding a small laundry basket. I see Grant's clothes in the basket and I put mine in.

"I'll have these ready for you in about forty minutes, love." Hunter smiles at me and walks off.

I look over at Grant. "What are we supposed to do for the next forty minutes?"

I love how his smile makes his eyes twinkle. "I had food delivered to Hunter's office. Come on." He takes my hand and he leads us to the opposite side of the building.

"How do you know Hunter?" I ask as I look at pictures on the wall of both men and woman going through the course and some of them are with Hunter.

"I actually met him through Izzy." He points at a picture as we come up to it, I realize it's Victoria Hand's wife Isabel Hartley in the picture with Hunter. "He had just opened this place when I started the Academy."

That surprises me. "Wow. He's so young to own his own business. It's hard to imagine he's been doing this that long." Hunter doesn't seem the time to stay put but I didn't know him.

Grant shrugs. "His parents are made of money. He doesn't care for them but he likes fitness and was doing some odd jobs for the government. He used his inheritance to build this place and has poured his blood, sweat, and tears on it since."

I watch as he talks about Hunter. It's obvious he admires him. He's more relaxed around Hunter and I like that.

"Well, this was a great idea. I never knew this place was here. No wonder you kick ass at all the strength and endurance tests. Having this," I gesture to the building, "seriously helped."

He chuckles. "Yea. He changes it up as often as he can. He doesn't want anyone getting used to the course or it getting boring. He also has a shooting range in the back. I'm here a lot."

We arrive at the door and Grant leads us in. There's a round table next to some windows. As we walk closer, I see the windows look out to the obstacle course.

The food on the table smells delicious.

We end up eating grilled chicken with roasted vegetables on the side.

"Thank you again. This was fun. I've always wanted to do a mud run but I've never had the time. Now that I know this is here, I'm gonna incorporate it to my workout."

"Princess, I'm not gonna lie. Watching you complete that course was fucking hot. I knew you were in shape but you did that with some serious finesse." He's looking straight into my eyes and I can feel myself blush. "It was impressive."

I giggle. "I'm sure I looked like a wild animal. Some of those obstacles were intense." I'm not gonna lie the whole things was hard as hell.

"So, what is your workout routine?" He leans back in his chair as he opens a water bottle.

I sigh. I don't usually tell anyone because they insist I do too much but I don't want to lie to Grant. He's been with me all week and has seen me go off on my own.

"On Monday I do a light boxing hour with Trip. We also do some weights. Tuesday, I do jiu-jitsu at a local place. Wednesday, I do kickboxing and Muay Thai. Today, I do core and legs with Trip or Bobbi. Friday, I do some wrestling and core exercises. Saturday, I hit the shooting range and hang out with Fitzsimmons. They love to give me brain twisters. When I'm lucky Clint will be in town and he'll give me some training." I ramble off my week and add, "I also run five miles daily."

I had been careful not to watch him as I spoke. I don't want to see his reaction. Did he think I was overdoing it? Did he realize just how much I had to train just to keep up with him and half the class? What came naturally to him, I had to fight to keep up with. Agents shouldn't have to train this hard just to be at our level.

GRANT POV

I hate myself. I am a real piece of shit. I have judged Skye from day one. I assumed she'd gotten where she was because of who she was. Truth be told, this girl is a beast.

She'd earned every bit of praise she's gotten at the Academy. She'd worked her ass off on and off-campus and I'd given her nothing but shit. I'd made life for her unbearable. No wonder she hated me. And after what I'd seen outside earlier—she hadn't had an easy life. I'd gotten that wrong too.

Her week sounded exhausting. When did she have a chance to relax or study? She was running herself ragged and why? So, assholes like me could judge and say she shouldn't be at the Academy? She pushed herself on a daily basis and never got credit for it. What little she did, I was sure to shit on in class.

"Skye…" I don't know what to say.

She frowns at me. She still has a small smile on her face. She's searching my eyes. "What? What is it?"

I drop my head in shame. "I'm sorry. Fuck. You give it your all every day and all I've done is give you a hard time. Fuck. How have you not passed out from all the running around you do?"

I really want to know.

She shrugs. "I don't want the attention. I do what I do for me. I don't do it for the praise." She explains. "I know I'm behind two years. You're not wrong about that. I'm trying to make up for—"

"Bullshit, Skye! Bullshit!" I interrupt. "What I saw out there today—" I don't know how to describe it, "maybe you were behind when you first started but I can guarantee you that even now some in our class would not finish that course anywhere near your time. It takes a lot of hard work to get to the conditioning you are in now. You have nothing to make up for. You're there. You've caught up. Slow down some." What started off as angry, has now turned softer and by the end, I'm begging. "Please take it easier, Princess. You're going to run yourself ragged. It's good that you're putting in gym hours on your own time. We all do that but not how you're doing it. I'm serious. Please, slow down."

Her face tells me she's not buying what I'm telling her. "Come on, Grant. I can't let up. If I let up someone will pounce. I can't give them the benefit of the doubt. I have to prove that I deserve to be here. They have to see that I've earned my spot."

"Fuck them." I'm angry again. "They aren't worth it. Nobody is worth you pushing yourself like this. I'm sorry for my part in it because I know I'm to blame. I was vocal about you not deserving a spot. That was my own shit and it had nothing to do with you. I fucked up and I will do what I can to set people straight but you don't owe them anything." I hold her hands and look her in the eye. "I mean it. Fuck them. They don't know you. I didn't know you. Don't break your back trying to get their approval. There will always be someone who doesn't think you deserve what you have—don't try to please them."

She looks at me for a while and doesn't say anything. Eventually, she rolls her eyes. "I'll try to ease up."

"That's all I'm saying." I put my hands up. I hope she's not lying to me to get me to shut up. "You don't need to train six days out of the week when you're already training at the academy."

"I'm not giving up Jiu-Jitsu or Muay Thai…or wrestling. And I have to do practice with Nat and Clint. I'm not going to stop running either." She fights with me.

I shake my head. "That's your whole schedule, Princess."

"Nuh-uh." She shakes her head. "I can rest Monday's and Thursday's besides my running, I mean."

"Fine." I grumble. It's as good as it's going to get for now.

We talk easily after that, just talking about random things. I want to ask her about what happened but I don't want her to talk about the panic attack or what led to it if she's not comfortable. It kills me not to know and I know eventually I'll have to ask because I want to avoid it at all costs but for now, I can leave it alone.

When our clothes are ready, we say goodbye to Hunter and head home. Instead of just dropping her off, she invites me upstairs into her room to hang out.

I end up going up to her room where we watch movies. Most of them are comedies or action where we spend time making fun of plot holes, cheesy lines or outrageous chase or fighting sequences.

Sometime during our third movie, we fall asleep. I wake up at two in the morning and watch her for a while. Finally, after deciding I look like a fucking stalker, I get up to leave. I write her a note and stick it to her forehead with a smile on my face. I kiss the top of her head and walk across campus to my own room.


	5. Chapter 5

WARD POV

I feel like a fool. I can't get rid of this damn grin on my face. I'm doing double my usual routine at the gym to try to shake it off and it won't go away.

Why can't I get Skye out of my head? I feel like this has been the most significant week of my life and I know it has to do with her.

I thought the week Vic had come for me and given me hope was the most significant. It should be. Why isn't it? What in the hell has happened this week to make me feel this way? I haven't even kissed Skye and I'm in too deep.

I have half a mile to run and I'll be done here. I'll have classes and avoid her until the party tonight. I can do that. She's right, we don't have to spend every waking minute together for people to believe that we're a thing.

My buzzes and I see it's a text from Skye.

**You couldn't have found a better place for the post it? Ass.

I laugh without meaning to.

**Good morning, by the way. You ready to party?

Fuck it. I'm not waiting until the party. I want to see her before.

**You want to hang out before the party? I can pick you up.

I keep running as I wait for her answer.

**Mind reader! I was going to ask you to come eat with Fitzsimmons and me after classes.

I frown. She wanted to eat?

**Princess, I don't know if you know this but they'll have food at the party.

**That is NOT food. Those are hors d'oeuvres. They do NOT count as food.

I forgot about her appetite. I smile. I liked to watch her eat. She wasn't like most girls who'd eat a salad for dinner because they didn't want to look like pigs. Skye looked fucking good and everything she ate disappeared and was replaced by some killer curves. Now that I know her workout routine it makes much more sense.

**Sounds good. Where are we going?

**Pizza!

I shake my head. She could eat and junk out. I'll have to show her how to eat healthier.

**Where?

**Meet me at my room at 4. We'll go together.

**Fine. Have a good day, Princess.

**You too, Ken.

**You've got to stop calling me Ken.

**I'll think about it.

I put my phone away. I need to focus on today. I've got two exams today. I should look over my notes after this.

The day is pretty uneventful. I try to dismiss Bobbi again when she brings up Kara, who she tells me is back.

It irritates me that Bobbi thinks I need to give Kara a heads up about Skye. There is nothing going on between Kara and I. Sure, we've hooked up but it's more like scratching an itch or something to do when we're bored. We're not dating.

I ignore Bobbi. She gets mad and walks off giving me one last pissed off warning about how I'm going to regret it if I don't talk to Kara.

Once Bobbi is out of sight, she's out of mind and all too soon I forget about Kara.

When classes are done, I head over to my dorm. I'm surprised to see Trip already there. I haven't seen much of him this week because I've been with Skye.

"Hey, dude. I hear you're meeting Fitz and Simmons today?" Trip is sitting on his bed, watching a movie.

I nod. "Yea. I'm just going to get ready and head over to Skye's room. You coming?" I ask him as I put down all my things and go to the closet to grab the horrendous marron suit.

"Nah. I'm not gonna be the fifth wheel." He throws me a 'are you stupid look' before he starts laughing. "What the hell is that?" He's pointing at my suit.

Damn, Skye. I knew it looked stupid. Fuck. Something about my reaction has him laughing harder.

"Dude." He's laughing and shaking his head in disbelief.

"Skye picked it out. I knew I shouldn't have bought it." I toss the suit on my bed. Dammit. I was going to have to wear it. The only other pants that were formal were too worn and ragged.

"You're really gonna wear that?"

I give him a death stare. He keeps the smile on his face but at least he stops laughing at me. He looks at me for a moment before shaking his head. "Damn. You're not just messing around with her, are you?" He looks taken aback.

I don't know what to say. Normally, I'd call him out on this. He knows I don't date. He knows I hook up and don't see anyone more than once—with the exception of Kara.

He gets up and slowly makes his way to me. "Ward, man. Skye's like a sister to me. Don't fuck this up. And you better not be playing her."

I can see he's being serious. Trip and I have never had issues. He's one of the few that I would call a friend. I search his face and I see a hint of a threat there.

"You're my friend too." I remind him. "You have this discussion with Skye?"

"Man, you're my friend but no offense, Skye's like family. Babygirl has been hurt enough." He backs up and sits on his bed, still staring at me.

"Yea?" The anger has crept up on me. It pisses me off that he thinks he knows Skye better than me. And yes, I just started getting to know her but I can see her now for who she is. "And what do you know about it?"

I can't help but bait him. Maybe he'll know what gave Skye PTSD and he'll tell me thinking I already know. It's a shitty way to find out but I don't care.

"I know that ex of her was a piece of shit. He and her old friend did her wrong and I'm not about to let her get hurt like that again." He answers. "Have you talked to her about Kara?"

My jaw clenches. "I met Miles and Sophie. Man, I'd never cheat on Skye. What the fuck, Trip? Kara has nothing to do with this. I haven't seen or talked to her since I started seeing Skye." Lie. Fuck that was a lie. I'd seen her Monday but I'd ignored her text messages all week.

He looks at me for a moment and it looks like he decides to believe me. "Are you going to tell Kara about Skye?" He repeats.

He and Bobbi really need to mind their own damn business. "I'm sick of hearing about Kara. She and I are nothing. I don't have to say shit because she knows what the hell is up. She won't care that I'm with Skye and I'm getting tired of repeating that."

I turn around and yank the shirt off my back. Damn. I need to go take a shower to cool off. This whole Kara thing is gnawing at me. I haven't spoken to her. Seeing her on Monday was a mistake but I didn't need to talk to her. She had nothing to do with me and Skye.

"She tell you Miles and Sophie are engaged?" I ask him to change the subject about Kara.

"Fu-ck. Seriously?" Trip rubs the top of his head. "Nah. That's rough. How'd she find out?"

"We ran into them at the mall. Sophie was quick to point at the ring." I tell him as I turn to look for an undershirt.

"Man, those two deserve each other." He's quiet and looks down before looking back at me. "Can I ask you something?"

I nod.

"Has she told you anything else?" He seems cautious.

Maybe he will tell me about Skye's secret.

"What do you mean?" I turn to grab a towel. I don't want to seem like I'm interested.

"Nothing, man. Sometimes, well—I think she needs to work some stuff out. She—something happened—she won't tell me—never mind, man." He seemed to struggle through all that. He seemed like he didn't know what to say.

So, he didn't know about what had happened either.

"Do you know if Fitzsimmons know?" I ask him, finally turning to him.

He meets my eyes and shakes his head. "I'm not sure. I hope they do. I'd hate to think babygirl is going through it on her own."

I hate that he calls her that. It'd never bothered me before but it does now. I know it's something trivial and shouldn't even think about that when there are bigger things to worry about but I can't help it.

"I'm gonna get ready. I've got to meet them in half an hour and I still need to shower." I walk out of the room to take the quickest shower known to man.

I change and go to meet Skye. I must admit the suit isn't half bad now that I'm wearing it. I'm antsy as I enter her building. I wonder what dress she picked out to wear for tonight.

I'm nervous as all hell when I knock on her door and I don't know why. I don't know if it's because I can't wait to see what she's wearing. I don't know if it's meeting Fitzsimmons or if it's because tonight seems significant for us.

"Ken?" I hear Skye's muffled voice coming from behind the door.

"You expecting anyone else, Princess?" I chuckle.

"Give me a minute." She calls.

I'm looking down and adjusting my tie when she opens the door.

My eyes dart to her shoes first. Damn, those heels are high. My eyes slowly wander up her toned, tan legs. Fu-ck her legs seem to go on forever until my eyes hit the bottom of her short dress.

I press my lips together. She chose the white dress I'd handed to her at the store. It dipped low and showed the right amount of skin. She looked incredible. Finally, I arrive at her beautiful face and she has a wide grin.

"Do you like it?" She asks with a soft chuckle. "I thought it complimented me well. Though," she turns to her side, "it doesn't show off your favorite ass-et." She pops her ass out a little and I have to take a deep breath.

She chuckles again and stands straight as she sees me checking out her ass. She's right though, I can't really see it under this dress.

I shake my head. "Next time remind me to choose one with a tight skirt." My eyes travel over her body again.

She's flushed when I finally meet her eyes.

"You're a perv, you know that?" She softly pushes my shoulder.

I shrug. "You can't blame me when you're rocking that dress, sweetheart."

She shakes her head as she grabs her purse and pushes me out of the doorway.

She locks her door and turns to face me. "I love this suit on you." She admits. Her hand pulls at my lapel and then smooths it.

I roll my eyes. "Any color would have gone with this dress. You chose this one deliberately." I run my hand down her arm and finally take her hand in mine. I smile at the goosebumps that my finger left behind.

She flushes again. "I wanted to see if you could pull it off."

"And?" I ask as we turn and walk down the hall.

She groans. "What doesn't look good on you?"

I grin. "Well, we can always start taking things off to see if I look just as good with nothing on." I whisper close to her ear.

Her goosebumps are back.

She smiles into her shoulder. "We'll see how lucky you get."

Her answer makes my eye bulge out. If we keep down this road my pants will be even more uncomfortable than they are now.

"Where we headed to, Princess?"

We arrive at my car and she waits for me to open her door. She thanks me and gets in. I run around and get in the driver's seat.

I look at her for an answer and she tells me.

As I drive, I see her pulling on her fingertips. "Everything ok, Princess?"

She shrugs. "I'm a little nervous."

I'm taken aback. I turn to look at her. "Why?"

She blushes again and I wonder how many times I can get her to do that tonight?

She doesn't answer until I'm facing the road again.

"You're meeting Fitzsimmons. Besides Trip and my family, Fitzsimmons are the people I love most in this world. They're more than my best friends. They've been with me for everything. They were there when—" she hesitates and I turn to her quickly, "when—I broke up with Miles. They were there when my dad got cancer. They're more like my siblings."

She had almost told me what had happened to her, I could feel it. As much as I wanted to know what it was, I wasn't going to push her. So, instead, I try to ease the tension that is now in the car. "Siblings that are sleeping together?"

She laughs and her body relaxes. "Ugh. I try not to think about that part." She makes a face.

The drive to the Pizzeria only takes a couple of more minutes. As we pull up, Skye turns to me. "Ok. Just remember that I love them and they're my best friends. They're a bit much but you get used to them. They're super sweet and really funny. Give them a chance. Don't—"

"Breathe, Princess. It's going to be ok." She's a big rambling mess but she's a cute rambling mess. It makes me feel good knowing that she really wants us to get along. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

I step out of the car and go around to open her door.

I lace our hands together and we make our way into the building.

We're not five feet into the place when a petite, brunette lunges at Skye. Skye drops my hand and they wrap their arms around each other.

"Oh, I've missed you." Simmons says.

They pull apart. "I saw you three weeks ago." Skye holds Simmons at arms length.

I notice a thin, blue-eyed guy who I assume is Fitz. He looks just like Skye described.

"Fitz!" Skye sees him.

He smiles and hugs her before kissing her on the forehead. "Good to see you, Skye."

Her smile is wide and it reaches her eyes. "You too. Don't you look dashing." She looks him over.

Simmons clears her throat and motions to me with her head.

I chuckle.

"Oh." Skye steps to my side. "Grant, this is Jemma Simmons and Leopold Fitz. Better known as Fitzsimmons." She gestures and then takes hold on my hand. "Guys, this is Grant Ward."

Both are looking me over. Simmons is checking me out and Fitz is sizing me up. I shake both their hands. "It's good to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Good things, we hope." Simmons gives an awkward laugh that makes me smile. She looks at me like she's taken with me which weirdly makes me laugh.

"Yea, we've heard of you too." Fitz gives me a look that makes me think he's trying to threaten me. "You've given Skye a hard time in the past." His tone is serious.

He's not wrong there. I look to Skye and she's glaring at Fitz.

"Fitz." She warns him.

He looks to her and then back at me. "Yea, well. He did. I ju—"

"Enough, Fitz." Simmons places her hand on his shoulder and he nods.

"Yea, well—ok. New start." He looks at me and nods again.

We find a table and the girls sit while Fitz and I go put in our order.

"Look, Fitz. I know I've been an ass in the past but things are different now." I promise.

He eyes me trying to get a read on me.

"Look, I know you can beat me up in a million different ways but Skye's like a sister to me and I won't have you breaking her heart. She's gone through a lot and doesn't deserve to be played."

"I agree. I understand that you want to protect her but I promise that I'll do the same thing. She's completely different than who I thought she was. She's incredible." I must have said the right thing because his stance completely changes.

"Fine." He huffs as he looks up at the menu and then turns back to me. "I might not be able to take you but if you harm her in any way, I'll come up with a weapon that can put you on your ass. Do I make myself clear?"

He was trying to threaten me again. I had to hand it to the guy, he had some balls. I had four inches and about forty pounds of muscle on the guy.

"I hear you loud and clear. I won't hurt her, Fitz." I tell him again and the cashier calls us to the front.

He follows me and we pick out some pizza, chicken and wedges for the table. I tell him it's my treat and he eyes me one more time before he agrees.

We go back to the table and it's obvious the girls have just switched subjects because Skye starts talking about makeup and Simmons is talking about the weather simultaneously.

Skye palms her face and shakes her head.

Simmons does the awkward laugh again as we sit.

I sit next to Skye and tell them our pizza will be out soon.

"So, Ward," Simmons says my name weirdly and she's got a weird smile on her face.

"Catch your breath, Simmons. For Christ's sake, he's Skye's boyfriend." Fitz reminds her. "And oh yea, your bloody boyfriend is sitting right next to you." He doesn't seem upset but he does shake his head like he can't believe it.

Simmons blushes. "Oh, you." She looks at him and gives that laugh again.

"Oh boy." Skye rolls her eyes. She leans toward me and whispers in my ear, "she gets flustered around handsome men."

I smile slowly. "Are you calling me handsome?" I tease.

Skye laughs. "Shut up. It's probably one of the main reasons they accepted you at SHIELD. They check marked the HOT box and you were a shoe-in."

"I'm more than just a hot body, Skye." I give her a face. "I'm fluent in five different languages. I can diffuse a bomb in less than five minutes" I'm counting on my finger and giver her a smile, "and yea, ok…. I am really attractive." I laugh.

"You also have a massive ego." She pushes me off of her.

"That's not the only thing that's massive." I say quietly leaning back into her ear.

Her jaw drops. "Grant Ward! We've got company." She slaps my shoulder.

SKYE POV

It is one thing to say things like that to me but seriously, in front of Fitzsimmons! What am I going to do with this guy?

Thankfully it looks like neither of my friends heard the words that came out of his mouth. I shake my head at him but he's laughing at my expense.

I can't help but blush because now I'm thinking about how big he really is. Most guys with big ego's, big cars and talk a big game come with small packages but why do I get the feeling that when he says he's big it's because he is.

It wouldn't be fair to every man walking around for him to not only look like he does but also have a big package. He was smart and funny. He wanted fairness and it was easy to be around him, now that he didn't hate me.

Everything seemed too real for me and it was putting me on edge. Was this really him or was he doing everything for the assignment? I know on my part; the assignment had gone out the window after the second day. I liked him. Hell, if I was being honest, I could admit that I loved Grant Ward.

I loved him when he was being an ass to me last year. Now that he'd stopped that and had changed his attitude toward me, I didn't stand a chance. I was going to get my heart broken. It was only a matter of time.

I'd have to talk to him soon and be honest. I wasn't going to be embarrassed about my feelings for him. It's not like I wanted to feel this way. Things tended to get tangled up when there were lies involved.

I don't know how long I've been looking at him but he catches me off guard by leaning in and kissing me on the corner of my mouth.

I feel my cheeks flush. Well, if the table didn't know I liked him before, they all knew now. I normally don't blush.

"You guys are adorable." Simmons scrunches up her nose with a smile on her face. "Aren't they adorable, Fitz?"

"Yes. Adorable." Fitz's sarcasm makes me smile.

The third-degree starts in on Grant and he answers every question they throw his way. He's doing very well and doesn't seem annoyed at their questions.

The food arrives and we all dig in.

I start with the pizza and I notice Grant starts with the wings.

"Mmm." He groans. "Princess, you've got to try these wings." He says. He makes them look so yummy. He holds one up for me to take a bite.

I hold his wrist as I take a bite. They are the right amount of spicy and come apart right in your mouth.

"Princess?" Simmons raises her eyebrow at us.

I shrug. "Just a nickname."

"She used to hate it." Grant tells her.

I gasp. My mouth is hanging open as I turn in my seat to him. "Excuse me but it was the way you used to say it that I hated."

He knows damn well he's changed the way he uses it. He gives me a teasing smile. "I don't know what you mean, sweetheart."

I glare at him but I can't hold it because he's so damn adorable. I turn my eyes to Fitzsimmons. "He used to say it to put me down."

"How is me calling you Princess, putting you down?"

"Because you were accusing me of being spoiled. That's how."

He puts his arm around my shoulders and gives me a side hug. "I know. I was an idiot." He shrugs like it was no big deal.

I nod, agreeing with him.

"So, how did this start?" Fitz points back and forth between us.

Well shit. We hadn't come up with anything to say if it got brought up.

Grant shrugs. "I've always noticed Skye. I was attracted to her the second I laid eyes on her." I turn to him in shock. What? He meets my eyes. "I noticed how quickly she picked up on things and how much effort she put into everything. I was an ass because I wanted to believe the worst in her and it was a way to keep her at arm's length." I can't seem to look away from his eyes as he speaks. "I knew if I let my guard down with her I'd be hooked. On Monday we got an assignment together and the second I had an actual conversation with her, I was a goner."

Everything he's saying is making me want to kiss him. He seems so honest. It's everything I'd ever hoped to hear from him. Was it real? It seemed real. My heart feels full and I know I'm flushing again.

How did we get here? Somehow Grant's forehead is against mine. How we ended up here, I don't know. One of his hands is on the back of my neck and the other is tilting my head up to meet his.

Holy shit I was finally going to kiss Grant Ward.

As soon as our lips touch, I felt electricity run up my entire body. The kiss was slow but hungry. His tongue entered my mouth and met mine. He explored my mouth with his tongue and I've never felt such passion in my belly.

He was such a great kisser. I tug at his hair. I don't know how my hands even got there.

I faintly hear someone clear their throat but we don't break our kiss until it comes again but this time louder than before.

I realize it's either Fitz or Simmons trying to get our attention.

I blush. Holy hell, I forgot where we were. We break apart but he holds my eyes for a minute. I take a much-needed breath and settle back in my seat.

I notice the smeared lipstick on Grant's mouth and chuckle.

"What?" He asks. He has the same grin on his face that must be plastered on mine.

"I don't think that's your shade of lipstick." I grab a napkin to try to clean him up. It doesn't work. "You might need to wipe it off in the bathroom."

He clears his throat before leaning into me. "I would but I can't stand up right now."

Dammit. Why can't I stop blushing? My panties get a little wetter.

"Um, hello?" Simmons gives us a little wave.

We both turn to them.

"So nice of you two to join us." Fitz gives us an impatient look and goes back to his food.

I pick up my pizza and we both go back to eating. This time, Grant asks Fitzsimmons questions about me and it's not long before they start telling him embarrassing stories. For instance, the first time I met Tony is one of the many things I want to forget.

I had a bit of a crush on Iron Man and Grant did not waste time making fun of me for it. Then, Simmons admitted that I'd made my own suit for Comic-Con and I want to die.

I have a million napkins tucked in my dress so I don't get any food on it. While the dress is beautiful, I have never succeeded in going a full night without getting something on me if I'm wearing white. I don't know what I was thinking about wearing this dress.

A few times I drop food but thankfully the napkins have saved me.

We laugh and I'm so grateful that my friends like Grant and vise versa. By the time we're done eating, Grant has Fitz eating out of the palm of his hand.

After Grant has cleaned his face up and I've redone my makeup, we decide to play miniature golf in our formal wear just to relax before the party. All week we've heard rumors that Director Fury will be making an announcement tonight.

I don't believe for a minute that my dad will be named Deputy Director tonight. If something like that was happening, he or my mom would have given me a heads up.

At eight, we finally get around to going to the party. The announcement is set to be made in thirty minutes.

As we walk around to find a table to sit at, Simmons gets flagged down by a very attractive, blond, blue-eyed guy.

"Hey, have you been here long?" He asks.

Simmons shakes her head. "No, we actually just got here. We're looking for a table to sit at." She answers with a smile.

I look the guy over. I don't recognize him but he has a beautiful smile. I catch his eyes and smile at him. I don't miss him looking me over. I feel comfortable enough tonight that I can admit he's checking me out.

"Lincoln, this is my best friend Skye." She introduces us.

His smile is dazzling as we shake hands. "It's nice to finally meet you, Skye." He tells me. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you, Lincoln." I shake his hand.

"Hi. Grant Ward." Grant says from beside me and his arms snakes around my waist to pull me close against him.

I turn from Lincoln to Grant and frown. He seems upset.

"Nice to meet you. Lincoln Campbell." Lincoln offers his hand to Grant. For a second, I don't think Grant will shake his hand but there's no reason he wouldn't. They finally shake hands.

"Lincoln is in Science and Technology with us. He's going to be a very brilliant doctor." Simmons brags about him.

I smile. "A doctor?" Impressive. Attractive and smart.

He nods. "Impressed?" Is he flirting with me? The look he's giving me tells me he is.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Campbell but we should go find a table." Grant says a little rudely.

Lincoln jump from mine to Grant's but only for a second before looking back at me. "I have a table over in the corner. We have some open seats if you'd like to sit with us." Lincoln offers. "I was just getting a drink."

"Oh, really?" Simmons claps. "Thank God. I need to sit for a minute. I'm not used to these heels."

Lincoln turns and motions for us to follow.

Grant grumbles from beside me. I turn to give him a look. What is his problem?

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"I don't like that guy." He says low so only I can hear him. He's staring at the back of Lincoln's head. His eyes don't lie. He doesn't like Lincoln.

I'm taken aback. "What? Why? You just met him."

He looks down at me for a moment before answering. "I don't do well with my girlfriend flirting with other guys especially when it's done in front of my face. You might want to remember that."

A chill runs through me. Grant's voice is cold and for a second I'm thrown back to the old Grant Ward I used to know. "I said less than ten words to the guy." I defend myself.

Sure, Lincoln might have been trying to flirt but I…I had gone along with it. Dammit. What the hell was wrong with me? I might not have said much but I hadn't stopped it either.

I don't know why but I'm attracted to Lincoln. But I would never do anything about my attraction. I was with Grant. Wasn't I? After that kiss, this seemed real, at least it did to me.

I still have to talk to Grant. We need to make things very clear about what is going on between us.

If nothing else, I should apologize for making him feel like I was flirting. If the tables were turned wouldn't I be angry? I know I'd be jealous.

The realization hits me. He's jealous. "Are you jealous?" The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them.

Something crosses Grant's eyes but I can't read him. He takes a moment to answer. "I don't get jealous." His voice is still hard.

GRANT POV

Fuck. What the fuck is wrong with me? Am I having a fucking panic attack? I can't fucking breathe. I feel like I'm sweating bullets.

Skye's question throws me into my reality. I've never felt this type of jealousy before.

When we arrive at Lincoln, the douche bag's table, I excuse myself to the restroom.

I pull out my phone and dial Vic. I hope she's here tonight. I have to talk to her.

After the third ring, she answers.

"Hey, bud. What's going on?" She doesn't sound busy but there's also no loud noises in the background so I know she's not here. Her voice instantly makes me feel better.

"Vic, I hate when you call me that."

"I know. That's why I do it." She says without humor. "Why are you calling? What's that music behind you? Are you at Fury's party?"

"Yes."

She laughs. "I owe Izzy twenty bucks."

I frown as I find a corner to speak to her. "Why?"

"I didn't think you'd show. It's not your scene." She explains.

I shrug. "I had a date." I explain.

"You don't date." She sounds suspicious.

I pinch my nose. This is going to be hard to sell. Vic and Izzy know me better than anyone. They know I don't let people in and they know I don't do relationships. They also knew first hand how exhausting I could be when complaining about Skye.

"Yea, well you see. That's why I'm calling."

"Ok. Shoot." She waits for me patiently.

I sigh and I tell her I'm dating Skye. I obviously don't tell her why. But I tell her about my crazy emotions and how I feel like I'm on a damn rollercoaster when I'm with her. I begin to tell her how pissed off I am at this new guys Lincoln when she finally interrupts.

"Grant, I do believe that's jealousy."

"Fuck. Why?"

"Language." She warns. She's never liked my use of the English language. "Look, bud. I know you've only been seeing Skye for a week but you've been doing this dance with her for a year and a half now. I know you've insisted that you hate her but we haven't always believed that. After what you told me about these last couple of days, she sounds like a perfect match for you. I don't know Skye other for what you've told me but she's challenging you. She sounds funny and sweet."

I'm shaking my head. I don't like that she's behind this fake relationship or whatever this is. I want someone to tell me I'm moving too fast and that I'm not being rational.

"You keep saying you hate her but have you thought that it might be the opposite? Hate and love are two sides of the same coin." Vic's voice has lost some of her hardness. When her voice drops like this it reminds me of the day that she came to find me in Juvenile Hall.

I was crossing too many damn lines with Skye. It was easy to get lost in her when we were together but I was losing my footing. I was not one to date and I was dating. I was not for relationships and I'm in a fucking relationship. I didn't do love. Was I in love with Skye? Fuck. This assignment was going to kill me. It was one thing for me to fool around with her. It was entirely another to fall in love with her.

I don't know what to say and I appreciate Vic staying quiet as I mull over everything, she's just told me. The voice Director Fury on the mic is the only thing that pulls me out of my head.

I say goodbye to Vic and she warns me not to self-sabotage the situation. I don't even know what the hell she means. I don't do that.

I find the table everyone is at and I'm set a little at ease seeing that Skye sat as far away to Lincoln as she could and is talking to Fitz.

I sit next to Skye and thank Fitz for keeping her company.

She asks me if I'm ok and I just nod. I point at the stage, indicating that I'm listening to Director Fury. I know Skye well enough now to know that the smile on her face is a fake one but I ignore it.

I'm zoned out as the Director talks. He does name a Deputy Director but it's not Philip Coulson but Maria Hill.

The night passes in a blur. I dance with Skye and joke with Fitz. I feel weird and I don't know how to act normal. If Skye notices, she doesn't say anything.

I take her home after and walk to my dorm. I have to figure this whole thing out. Am I really going to let Skye turn my world upside down? As much as I want her, am I willing to dive into a real relationship with her.

My mind is really fucked up and foggy. I just need to sleep on this and I'll talk to Skye in the morning.

"Hey, baby. You miss me?" I hear as I reach my dorm room. Kara is leaning against my door.

"Kara?" Were we supposed to meet after the party?

She moves back to give me room to unlock my door. I enter, looking back at her.

"You gonna let me in?" She asks. She's looking good in that tight dress.

I hold the door open for her as she walks in and lock it behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

SKYE POV

I've been laying in bed for over an hour. I know I need to get up but my stomach just keeps turning. Everyday with Grant is confusing. One minute I'm on top of the world and the next I'm left shaking and confused like I've been pushed off a ride in the middle of it.

One moment he's kissing me at the Pizza Parlor and the next he's being cold. Last night at the party, I couldn't shake off that there was something wrong. As soon as we'd arrived, he'd changed. He said he'd gone to the restroom but he was gone for a while. When he came back, he'd acted like everything was fine. He chatted with both Fitzsimmons but he avoided me. Sure, we danced but after spending a week with him, I knew something was wrong. When he walked me home last night, he hadn't even tried to kiss me.

I grab a pillow and throw it over my face. I really need to talk to him. As much as I want to run from this and go home, I can't face my mom. She can read me like a map and I wasn't prepared to answer any questions.

My phone dings and butterflies fill my stomach. I hate that I'm hoping it's Grant.

**Is there something you need to tell your father and me, young lady?

Fuck. It was my mom. I rack my brain. I'm really hoping I forgot to tell them something and this isn't about Grant because I can't deal with this right now.

Shit. What should I say?

**We expect to meet this young man soon. You can't be dating Grant Ward, spend every waking moment together and not bring him home to meet your parents.

My mouth falls open. How in the hell? How did they know I'd been with him all week? Dammit. This is why I hate that my instructors know my parents. Fuck. And Tony probably called my dad.

**Mom! A little privacy would be appreciated. I can't bring him home. I just started seeing the guy. Do you want to run him off?

I'm so frustrated I growl. I could bring Grant to my parents, he'd have no choice because of the damned assignment but I wanted for them to meet only if this was real. I was not going to introduce a boyfriend to my parents if the relationship wasn't even real. I don't like lying to them.

**You're training to be a spy. Everything you ever do will be known by the Agency. Get used to it. Your dad says Isabel and Victoria are in Budapest for Thanksgiving. Invite him over.

I pout. I really want to cry right now. Thanksgiving? Are they crazy? I usually go home for four days during Thanksgiving. They cannot be serious with this invitation.

**I'll take your silence as a yes. Let him know. I'll make sure your grandmother knows we have an extra guest for dinner.

I bury my head under all my pillows. Earth swallow me now. Grant is going to kill me. I'm inviting him into an actual lion's den. My parents were one thing but my grandparents—scratch that, my grandmother was too much.

I bring my phone under my pillows and text her back.

**Mom, Thanksgiving?! You can't be serious. Lao Lao will eat him up.

**This is Grant Ward. If he can't handle your grandmother he has no business being an agent.

No excuses. Now I have to talk to him and soon.

**I'll ask him. No promises. If he doesn't want to go, I won't make him. See you Wednesday night.

I roll onto my back, pushing the blanket and pillows off of me. I sit up and decide to take a shower before I get the courage to text him.

I make my bed. Grab a change of clothes and a towel and go take a shower. I take my time because I'm dreading talking to Grant.

When I'm back in my room, I pick up my phone and see a text from Grant.

**Morning, princess. What're you up to today?

A slight smile appears on my face.

**I was actually going to see if you wanted to hang out. I think we need to talk.

I chew on my nail and sit on my bed. I'm nervous.

**I think you're right. Can I come over? We can just hang out and lazy around today. I don't feel like doing much.

That sounds nice. I don't know how our conversation will go so not making plans seems like a good idea. The butterflies in my stomach are back.

**Sounds good. I'll be in my room. Stop by anytime.

**Already on my way.

Oh, boy. I run to my mirror and take the towel that's around my head off. After throwing it in the laundry basket, I comb my hair and fix it up into a messy bun.

I pick up around my room quickly. I really should be neater. If my mother could see my room…woo. I'd be in trouble. My mom was a bit OCD when it came to cleaning.

Just as I put the last bit of trash into my bin, there's a knock on my door.

Damn. How fast does this guy walk?

I walk over with a smile on my face but I'm surprised to find Lincoln outside of my door and not Grant. I stand there for a minute not knowing what to say.

"Good morning, Skye." Lincoln speaks because I still haven't.

"Lincoln, hi." I look around the hall, a bit confused as to why he's here. "What are you doing here?" I know I might seem rude but I'm lost as to why he's at my door.

"I hope you don't mind but I got your door room from a friend of mine. I wanted to see if I could persuade you to join me for breakfast." He's got a sweet smile on your face.

I try to give him one but I know I just look awkward. "I'm sorry, Lincoln. I'm actually meeting Grant. He's on his way here now."

His eyes shoot up. "Oh, well maybe I could join you." He suggests.

Wow, this guy is forward. I'm a bit shocked. I give him a tight smile. "We're staying in actually."

"Oh." Again, he looks surprised. "I didn't know if—are you guys together then? I thought it was just a date. Last night you guys didn't talk much and it looked like you weren't having a good time. He pretty much avoided you all night."

His comment although true pisses me off. Where does this guy come off? He must have been watching us last night as I watched Grant like a moron. "He's my boyfriend. Don't worry about us." My voice comes out a little too angry. I reign in my anger and continue, "Sorry, you came down all this way but I don't think my boyfriend will appreciate you asking me out or you coming to my door."

I can see him backtrack with his eyes. His eyes speak volumes. He looks remorseful. "I'm really sorry, Skye. My mistake. I just wanted to have breakfast with you because I thought there was something between us last night. I'm sorry if I read things wrong." He steps back and holds up his hands. "Really, I'm sorry. It was my mistake. I hope we can still be friends."

I look him over. I don't know how good friends he is with Simmons or Fitz so I try to smile again. I could be cordial for them.

"That's fine, Lincoln. I'll see you around." I say as friendly as I can.

"What the hell is going on?" Grant's pissed off voice surprises me.

I turn and he's standing about five feet from my door. Damn, he's quiet. I didn't hear him walk up. He looks mad as hell as he looks from me to Lincoln and then back to me.

"Lincoln stopped by to see if I wanted some breakfast, but I already told him we had plans. He was just leaving." I tell him, watching his every move.

He moves his eyes back to Lincoln and if looks could kill, Lincoln would be a dead man. "You were asking my girlfriend out for breakfast?" His voice comes through gritted teeth.

Oh boy.

"Yea, man. Look, it was a mistake. I'll just go." Lincoln backs up and starts heading down the hall going the opposite way that Grant had come in from.

I take a second before looking back at Grant.

He's staring at me with the same look he was giving Lincoln. "How did he know where your room was Skye? Did he really just show up or was he just leaving?"

My mouth falls in horror. "Are you serious? You walked me home last night. What do you think happened? You think he came over after you left? You really think I'd fuck him, ask you over and spend the day with you?!" I turn into my room pissed as hell.

Who the hell does he think I am? Does he really think I'd do something like that?

I grab my door to slam it in his face but he grabs it and follows me into my room. I turn to watch him close the door behind him.

"Get out!" I yell.

"You invited me, remember? We're supposed to talk." I can see the anger start disappearing off of his body but I'm getting more worked up.

"I'm uninviting you. Get out." I spit through my teeth. I don't want to see him right now. I can't believe him. "If you really think I'd do what you accused me of then I don't want to talk so please get out." I'm trying to calm myself down.

"I'm sorry but what was I supposed to think. I arrive and he's right outside your door. How did he know where you stayed if he hasn't already been here—did you text him your address?" He's so goddamn demanding.

"No, I did NOT text him, I would need his number to do that! He said a friend told him where my room was. I was just as surprised to find him outside of my door as you were. He asked me to breakfast. I declined and told him you were coming over and that he should leave." I huff out but I can feel myself calming. I sit on my bed and focus on my pulse.

"He saw us together last night and he still has the fucking balls to come to ask you out for breakfast. What a piece of shit."

I look up at Grant. "He said he thought it was a date because you spent all night avoiding me. Seeing as how that's exactly what happened, I wouldn't be too mad at him for drawing that conclusion."

I watch as he closes his eyes and I know he's trying to calm himself before he talks.

Don't like to have honesty thrown in your face, do you Grant?

His tense shoulders relax and sag as he walks over to me. He sits on the bed. He angles so that the leg he bends on my bed is touching my hip.

"We have to talk." He says desperately.

I nod and slightly turn my body to him. "Grant, what the hell happened last night? One minute, I think we're on the same page and then you get cold with me. You avoided me at every turn. It was like you were a robot. I—I thought after the kiss—well it meant something to me."

He nods and looks down. "It did. Look, Princess, I'm sorry. I got caught off guard with Lincoln and I was overthinking everything."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"After we got our assignment and we started spending time together, I told myself I'd enjoy it for what it was. We'd see each other, I'd get all the benefits of being your boyfriend and once it was over, I'd walk away."

His words tighten my insides with ice. He was going to pretend for two months and walk away. It really was just an assignment to him. Boy, was I stupid and man, was he good.

He takes my hand in his and I have the urge to pull it away feeling sick to my stomach. No matter how I felt I had to hear this though. All our cards had to be on the table, even if it felt like he was gutting at my insides.

"That's what I wanted to happen." He tilts my head up so I can look at him square in the eyes. "What I told Fitzsimmons is true, Skye. I was a jerk to keep you at arm's length but this assignment has ruined that for me. In having to fake a relationship, it's given me the opportunity to spend time with you. I've told you multiple times that I don't date and that I don't do relationships." His hand is slowly caressing my cheek and it slides to hold me just behind my ear. His thumb rests on my cheek while the other part of his hand is in my hair. "But I want to date you, Skye. I want this relationship. It's real for me. The assignment has gone out the window. Last night I was so fucking jealous over Lincoln. I want to make him chew on his own teeth. So, I freaked out and called Vic. She called me out on a couple of things. It took me all night to process because you turned my world upside down in a week."

He leans in and kisses me. It's soft and short and leaves me wanting more. He rests his forehead on mine and I can't breathe.

Is he saying what I think he's saying?

"You gotta talk to me, sweetheart. I'm dying over here. It might only be a week but this has been coming for a year and a half. Everybody else could see it and I was blind to it." He's breathless and smiling and looks so fucking hot.

"Grant, I've liked you for over a year." I admit with my own breathless voice and smile at him. I want to tell him that I love him but I know it's too much. "I liked you even when you were being an ass. I saw you for who you were and I couldn't stop it even if I tried."

He's kissing me again but this time it's hungry and possessive. Neither of us is holding back. My hands are in his hair while he has one in the wrapped in the middle of my back and the other is in my hair.

We're tugging each other, pressing our bodies together. We are breathless as we kiss and both gasp for air. He bites my lower lip and I groan, pressing my forehead to his.

We calm ourselves and take deep breaths.

"Would you have been mad if I had kicked Lincoln's ass earlier?" His question comes out of left field. He's smiling so I know he's joking, at least I hope he is.

"You didn't have to kick his ass. I let him know you were my boyfriend and he didn't have to trouble himself with our relationship." I tell him remembering how mad I'd been at Lincoln. "He pissed me off telling me how he'd noticed us last night. He assumed it was just a date."

I notice his jaw clench and I bring my hand to it and he relaxes immediately bringing a smile to my face.

"So, you were jealous." I tease.

Grant leans away from me a little. "Yea and I didn't know how to deal with it. At first, I told myself that wasn't it and when I couldn't deny it. I didn't know how to take it. I don't like the hold you have on me, Princess." I can see he's not comfortable telling me this. "It's foreign to me."

I give him a sad smile. "Hey, take comfort in knowing I feel the same way. You have a hold on me, Grant Ward. I don't like it either but I've accepted it. I felt horrible last night and I wanted to apologize. I wasn't flirting with Lincoln last night but I knew he was with me. I didn't put a stop to it and I don't know why but I got to thinking how I would feel if the tables were turned." I want to let him know that I'd never hurt him like that. "I would hate it. I'd be jealous. It would be so disrespectful to me if you were flirting with someone especially if it was done right in front of me. I'm not one to cheat, I hope you know that."

He nods and kisses my nose. "I do know that. I overreacted last night and this morning. I'm sorry. I do trust you. I didn't know I could feel jealousy like that." He moves up my bed and leans against the wall, pulling me with him.

"It's ok. I get it." I cuddle up to him and rest my head on his chest. "If I came to see you first thing in the morning and saw someone at your door," I take a second picturing it. I don't know why I automatically picture Kara. How would I feel if I saw her at his door, thinking she was leaving after spending the night with him? My stomach turns. "I would like to think I wouldn't jump to conclusions but I'll admit I'd be very jealous and angry."

He's silent for a long time. It's easy and comfortable. I don't feel like we need to talk. I relax into his body and just enjoy having his arms around me.

"We're in agreement then? From today on, we are real boyfriend and girlfriend. No assignment bullshit. Just us, being us, seeing where this goes."

"Agreed." I smile feeling giddy. Grant Ward was officially my boyfriend. "Wanna shake on it?" I tease.

"I'd rather kiss on it." He tells me. His hand snakes around my neck and he tilts my head. Our lips meet and I waste no time in opening my mouth to him.

We make out for a bit until things start heating up and Grant pulls away, resting his head on mine. "Princess, I don't want to rush this. I want a real relationship with you. I don't want us to rely on our physical attraction. It's really fucking hard right now but I know it's for the best."

I glide my hand up his pants where I can feel just how hard it is. "I can see how hard this is." I can't help but tease, running a finger up his length. Jeez, my man is hung.

He hisses. "Fuck, Princess. That's not what I meant." He bites my lower lip.

"I know but it's fun to tease." I giggle as I take my hand off him and run it through his hair.

"You're going to be the death of me, woman." He presses a closed mouth kiss onto my lips quickly and then lets me go. "What are you up for?" He asks me, leaning back.

I move over him so that I'm straddling him. "You know what I'm up for." I kiss his neck and make sure to grind myself on his still hard length.

"Fuck. You're making it very hard for me to be a gentleman." His head leans back on the wall to look at me.

I smile. "There you go again, talking about how hard it is."

He grips my hips and brings me closer to him. My sex is so wet for him. His pants are rough on me even through my underwear.

It's like we're magnets. We can't keep apart but almost as if we've synchronized it, we let go of each other.

"Sorry." I apologize. "I know I'm not showing much restraint but I do appreciate you being a gentleman. I want this to be real. I don't want to be another notch on your bedpost."

He's quiet for a second as he looks at me. I see a softness in his eyes and it warms me from head to toe. "That won't ever be you." He assures me. "You're already so much more."

I give him a soft kiss before getting off the bed.

"Want to watch a movie?" I ask as I open my closet and pull out my little cart to show him all the movies I have.

"How many movies do you own?" He asks getting up and checking out my movie collection.

I shrug. "I don't know." I really don't.

He starts looking through them, making a pile of them on the dresser.

I look at some of the movies he's put in the pile. Avatar, Taken, Cast Away, The Blind Side, The Hangover, Inception, Juno, I Am Legend, and Four Brothers. He was still looking.

"I think you have enough here to have today covered." I laugh.

"We don't have to watch them all today." He shrugs still looking through my collection. "I've just never seen those before and they caught my interest."

"You haven't watched any of these?" I can't believe it. These weren't small studio movies. These were blockbusters. "How is that possible?"

"I don't watch a lot of movies. To be honest a lot of these movies you have, I've never even heard of but those sounded familiar or interesting." He stopped looking at the movies and turns to me.

"Ok." I grab his hand. "We are watching movies all day. And I do mean ALL day. We'll start with these. I've got chips and a ton of soda in the mini fridge. I can order some pizza but we are staying in today." I push him to sit on my bed and give him the movies he put aside. "Put these in order of how you want to watch them while I get things ready. You didn't have any other plans today, did you?"

He shakes his head with an amused look on his face.

"What?" I ask with a smile.

"You're a bossy little thing, aren't you?" The look he gives me demands a kiss.

When I pull back, I say, "Yea. It turns you on though, doesn't it?" I step back to appreciate the smile on his face and his relaxed demeanor.

"Everything about you turns me on, Princess." The way his eyes travel down my body makes me want to jump him.

I flush before turning and grabbing all my extra blankets and pillows from the chest in the corner of my room. I pull out my sleeping bag, unzipping it and laying it on the floor. I put blankets over than and then throw my pillows on the floor as well.

"Tada." I motion to my genius creation.

"You do know we can do this on your bed, right?" He chuckles.

I shake my head. "Not enough room. Besides, we're going to have food and drinks. Come on this will be more fun."

"Princess, you don't even have a tv." He looks around my room.

I laugh. "Amateur." I say as I grab the movie he's holding (Four Brothers) and turn to put it in the Blu-ray player.

I grab the chips and offer him a drink from the fridge. After he gets comfortable on the floor and our snacks are ready, I lock my door and turn off the lights.

I push the button and the projector turns on. I smile as he looks in awe. I love my dad. He made me such a movie and entertainment nerd.

I order two pizza, chicken and wedges after we're done with the second movie.

Grant argues with me that we should go out to get food but I tell him there are no stops when there's a movie marathon on. He doesn't like that we're eating pizza two days in a row and argues that it's not healthy. I roll my eyes and promise him a healthy meal tomorrow.

We get back to the movies and the only time he talks is while we're watching The Hangover. He didn't talk through the others so I know he doesn't like it. I take the opportunity to bring up Thanksgiving.

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Probably just hanging out on campus. Izzy and Vic are both out of the country. Why?" He's still watching the movie but not paying much attention.

"So, don't freak out but my parents found out we're dating and wanted me to invite you over for Thanksgiving." I'm scared to look at him, so I keep going, "I don't want you to feel like you need to go. It would probably be a lot for you because my grandparents will also be there."

When I turn to look at him, he's no longer watching the movie. He's looking at me with a kind of panicked look on his face.

I try to break the tension. "Are you scared that you'll hit on my mom if I take you home? And you'll embarrass yourself in front of her, my dad and my grandparents?"

I was going for funny but I think I just freaked him out.

GRANT POV

I let my head fall back to look at the ceiling. She was never going to let this go. For some sick reason, she thought it was hilarious for me to have a crush on her mom.

I know she's trying to make me laugh because she's nervous for my answer. Was I ready to meet her family?

I've met both May and Coulson before in passing but I'd be meeting them again, this time as Skye's boyfriend.

I want this to work out. I want to be with Skye. I know eventually I will need to meet them so why not now?

She sits up, bends her knees and wraps her arms around her legs. She's waiting for me to give her an answer.

I sigh and sit up as well. I put each one of my legs on each side of her and pull her by her ass toward me, so she's tucked near me.

"How about I go meet your parents first just to break the tension and then I can go with you to Thanksgiving? It'll put us at ease a little before Thanksgiving." I ask.

Her eye crinkle and she smiles, relaxing me. I'm glad she liked the idea. It would be easier to meet them at separate times.

"Really? You want to meet them?" She asks.

I nod. "I have to meet them anyway, sweetheart. Why not now? Besides, I want to spend Thanksgiving with you. I can't do that without meeting your family. But you have to promise me something." I eye her and hope she agrees to the other idea that just sprang to mind.

"What?" She asks before continuing with, "step aside if my mom likes you?" She giggles at her own joke and I can't help but roll my eyes.

I wait for her to stop giggling and finally nods for me to continue. "If I spend Thanksgiving with you, you spend New Years with me." There was no way I was going to let midnight go by without kissing my girl.

Her soften and I don't know why. She nods and pulls me into a hug, digging her head into my neck and pressing a kiss there.

It was so fucking hard not to take her now. Her mouth was making me hot and the heat was going straight to my dick.

"Deal." She finally says before she places another open kiss on my neck.

Fuck. What was she doing to me? I don't ever remember getting this turned on by a kiss on my neck ever. She had power over my body.

My phone buzzes from my back pocket, ruining the moment. She pulls away as I reach to get my phone out.

Kara's name appears on my screen. She sent me a text. I mute my phone and put it back in my pocket. The guilt of what happened last night hits me like a wave.

It was a mistake to let her in my room. I shouldn't have done that. Skye's words from earlier echo in my head. "If I came to see you first thing in the morning and saw someone at your door, I would like to think I wouldn't jump to conclusions but I'll admit I'd be very jealous and angry."

My stomach turns. I mentally kick myself. No! NO. It wasn't like that. Yesterday, I was still confused. Today, I knew what I wanted. Today was the start of our relationship. We'd agreed that today was the start of us. What happened before us, didn't matter. We were together now. Nothing—nobody else mattered.

"Do you need to get that?" She asks.

I shake my head. "Nah. She probably just wants to hang out. I'll just talk to her on Monday." I kiss the top of her head. I technically wasn't lying. I'd talk to Kara on Monday. She'd have to stop calling me and texting me for hookups. I didn't want her fucking up what I had with Skye.

We go back to watching movies and I can feel my phone buzz three more times in the next hour. Damn, Kara is being needy.

After the movie is done, we take a bathroom break. When I get back to the room, I start picking trash off the floor. We've made a mess. I find a brand-new trash bag and fill it up quick.

"No." Skye cries from the door. "What are you doing? We don't clean until morning. Movie night is not meant for cleaning. We have to fall asleep in our own filth and wake up to the aftermath tomorrow." She whines and I chuckle.

"I don't want to roll over onto chips, pizza or soda while I'm sleeping." I answer, tying off the trash bag and sit back on the floor.

She pouts and sits next to me. "You don't know how to have fun. Plus, why would you be rolling over onto things in your sleep?"

"Because I'm a bit of a crazy sleeper." I admit and she grins. "What?" A smile appears on my face.

"If you sleep over, you won't be sleeping on the floor, Ken."

I gulp. Damn, sleeping next to her in her bed sounds so fucking amazing. I lean over and give her a small kiss. "You need to stop calling me Ken, Princess."

She giggles. "Fine. But will you sleep over?"

"Hell yea." I know I shouldn't but I really want to.

She seems as excited as I feel. She puts the next movie on and we cuddle with her bed on my back. My phone buzzed twice in the middle of the movie and when I ignore it, it starts to vibrate meaning I have a phone call.

Skye eases off of me so I can pull the phone out of my pocket. I'm getting irritated at whoever it is that is calling. I frown when I see it's Trip. I show Skye the screen and she pauses the movie. I get up while answering. "Yea?"

"You mind telling me why there's a pissed off Kara, camping outside of our room?" Trip's pissed off voice comes into my ears.

Fuck. I turn to Skye, "Give me a second, sweetheart." She nods and I go out into the hall.

"What the fuck is going on, Ward? Are you still sleeping with Kara?"

Fuck. "Trip, will you fucking keep your voice down." I run my hand through my hair. What the fuck was Kara thinking? "Kara has been texting me but I've been with Skye all day, so I've ignored her texts. I haven't had a chance to talk to her about Skye."

"I better not find out that you're still hooking up with her." Trip warns and the line goes dead.

I check my phone and see that most of the text messages I've received are from Kara and only the last two are from Trip.

I delete them all without reading them and call Kara. She answers in the first ring.

"Ward, where the fuck are you?"

Who the fuck does she think she is? "What the hell are you doing there?"

For a moment, there's silent on the other end. "I text you that I was going to come."

"I'm busy Kara. What are you doing there?"

"Where are you?" She demands.

"Why does it matter? Who the fuck cares where I am? It's none of your damn business. We're nothing Kara. You aren't my girlfriend. I'm not your boyfriend. I thought we both knew what it was." I'm coming off as a fucking asshole but I don't care. She's way out of line.

"I just thought—"

"Look, I'll talk to you on Monday. Stop texting. Go home, Kara." I bite down on my anger. She was my friend before we started fucking. I didn't want to push this more than I already had. I hope we can still be friends after this. "I'm sorry, Kara. I'll talk to you Monday."

"Fine." She snaps and the call ends.

I take a deep breath and head back inside.

"Is everything ok?" Skye is still sitting in the same spot I left her in. She looks genuinely worried.

"Yes, Princess." I smile and go to sit next to her. I bring her back to my chest. "Just a misunderstanding." I kiss the back of her head and we go back to our movies.

We stay up late. After the movies I picked out are finished, Skye pulls out board games and card games. Most of them I haven't even heard of and we start playing.

It's a little after one in the morning and we agreed on one more game which so happens to be Battleship. I grew up with this game and I'm pretty good at it. So, I'm excited to play a game that I can kick her ass in.

After ten minutes, I look at my board in shock. Did she just sink my battleship?

I look up at her in shock and she laughs at my expression, knowing full well what she's done. I'm very competitive and she's beat me at every game we've played tonight and for the life of me, I can't seem to find an ounce of anger or annoyance at her because of it. A smile appears on my face as I look at how happy she looks.


	7. Chapter 7

SKYE POV

When I wake up, the first thing I feel is the heat coming from behind me. The second thing I realize is the way we're cuddled together. One of Grant's arms is under me, cradling my head while the other is holding me tight against him, around my hip and stomach.

I've got to say this is one of my favorite ways to wake up. I snuggle up as close as I can to him and as I do it, my butt wiggles against him, where I feel his morning wood hit right where it should go. I bite down a moan just as I feel him stir.

"Mmmm. Don't move, Princess. You're torturing me with that ass." His voice is thick from sleep and it sounds so sexy.

I smile. I'm such a bitch. I do it again. I wiggle my butt and press it right into him.

"Fuck." He growls into my neck and the hand that was over my stomach immediately comes to my hip and holds me for a second before he grinds our bodies together from behind.

I squeal in delight.

"This gentleman thing isn't going to last long." He kisses my neck.

"Fuck it. It's overrated." I giggle and grind back against him.

After a couple of minutes, he halts my hips. "Sweetheart, if we don't stop, I'm going to blow a load into my boxers and I'm not walking home commando style."

I laugh because I can feel how tense he is from holding back.

"That's funny to you?" He sounds only half irritated. I turn to look at him over my shoulder and see he's smiling.

I pull out of his arms and straddle his body, pushing him onto his back.

"Skye." He warns but I don't care.

I lean down and kiss him. His hands immediately find my hips. I stop kissing him long enough to reach into my end table and pull out a condom.

His eyes had followed my hand and he was now looking into my eyes. "You're more than a notch on my bedpost, Princess."

My body heats up with his words. I can feel myself burning for him. "I know." I tell him as I reach for him under his boxers.

He hisses as I make contact with his hardness. He lifts his hips and pulls down his boxers and then his hands go to my ass.

I sit up as he lifts my top off me. I wiggle my hips and lift to remove my bottoms and panties at the same time. He pulls the shirt off his back, as I open the condom wrapper.

I press my lips together to stop from moaning. He looks so hot right now. The look he's giving me is making me wet.

I roll the condom on him and it's his turn to moan. "Shit."

I smile as I lift myself and line him up to my entrance. I drop down slowly, letting myself get used to his size.

He grunts and holds my hips steady. I prop myself up with my hands on his chest. Oh my god, he feels so good inside me. He's stretching me so good. I feel a mix of pleasure and pain from his size. I relax my walls to allow him access and once I feel he's in as deep as I can take him, I begin to move.

I grind and circle my hips. I lift off him until only his head is inside me and I drop down slowly once again. I do this a few times before I pick up speed. My head is thrown back as I take him in. His hands are now roaming my body. One hand grips my ass as the other kneads my breast.

He then pulls me down to him and takes a nipple in his mouth. He bites gently and I hiss my approval. There is nothing better than Grant Ward inside me.

I continue at the speed we're at but I'm slowly losing control. I can feel my orgasm coming and I can't help from bucking on him.

"Let go." He says in my ear. It's not a suggestion, it's a command. He's ordering me and, at the moment, it's so hot that my body does as he says.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuck!" I scream. My orgasm is so intense. He's taken over as he lifts into me and in one motion, rolls us over so that he's on top.

Both of us are coated with sweat. He lifts a leg so it's resting on his shoulder and the angle he's hitting me is divine.

"Dammit, Princess, you're going to make me cum. You're so wet and tight." He moans and keeps the speed I'd set when I was on top.

"Harder." I say through my moans.

He smiles and pounds into me. He's relentless on my pussy and I can feel myself building again. I don't know that I can handle another orgasm like the last again.

"Grant, I'm going to cum." I cry out.

"Not yet. Not yet. Not yet." He grunts. "Wait." Again, he's ordering me.

My damn body listens to him and I whine in pleasure and frustration.

After a couple of more strokes, he curses. "Now, Princess. Now. Now. Now. Yesyesyesyesyesyes." His hand is set on my neck but it's gentle. There's no pressure there but still, it adds to my orgasm.

My body releases on demand and I can feel him explode into the condom.

He doesn't stop moving in and out of me until we've both have come down from our highs. We share a look and both grin. We're both out of breath.

He pulls out of me with a wince. And pulls off the condom. He ties it off and goes to toss it, as I try to catch my breath.

He comes back and lies in bed with me. He rolls me over and we cuddle.

"How many condoms do you have in your drawer?" He asks and I look up at him with a smile on my face.

"Why?"

"Because we're doing that again and I don't want to have to get up to go get more." He explains.

I arch an eyebrow. "A little cocky, aren't we?"

He shakes his head. "Cocky but not little." He says, slapping my ass.

"Grant!" I squeal and slap his arm.

He kneads at the ass cheek he just slapped and I moan in pleasure. Damn him. He makes everything feel so good.

"That was damn good and we have to do it again before we get up to shower." He tells me and he leans over me to get to the condoms.

His body is over me and I take the opportunity to take in his smell. I take a deep breath and he smells like sex. It's not a gross smell. It's a smell that is all man and sexy.

"Did you just smell me?" He gives me a curious look.

I shrug. I'm not answering that question.

He shows me he found another condom and has a wide smile on his face. His look makes me feel naughty.

He kisses me first and I melt into him. He trails the kiss down the side of my face and onto my neck. Goosebumps cover my body. He nips at my ear before trailing kisses down to my chest. He kisses both nipples before taking one in his mouth. He pinches the other and my chest rises from the bed. I can feel his smile against my skin.

He kisses down my stomach and skips where I want his kisses the most. He kisses the inside of both my thighs, before lifting a leg. He maneuvers down the bed until his face is at eye level with my sex. He kisses the inside of the leg he's holding before he lifts the other and does the same. He plants both my legs onto the bed and spreads them open.

I moan as I run my hands through his hair.

He looks up at me as he dips into me and finally takes me in his mouth. He runs his tongue up and down my slit before he comes down to suck on my clit. The entire time, he holds my eyes. The feeling is so intense. I fight myself from closing my eyes. I keep my eyes open and begin to grind myself on his mouth.

I'm so focused on his eyes; I don't notice him bring his hand up my body until he inserts a finger inside me and then pushes in another. He curves his fingers up and starts moving them in and out quickly, bringing me to orgasm. It's the quickest I've ever cum and I know I'm in trouble with this man.

My body is still trembling and I'm coming down from my high when Grant turns me over and brings my ass up. He smacks my ass once and pushes into me in one stroke.

I scream in pleasure as he rubs my ass where he'd hit it. His other hand is in the middle of my back, keeping me down. I meet his thrusts and clench my walls around him.

"Do that again." He groans and I tighten my walls around him. It feels like heaven. All my senses are on overdrive.

I've had plenty of sex in my life, both meaningful and meaningless and this—this surpassed all others. I didn't know how and I didn't want to know how he'd gotten so good at sex so early in life. It wasn't just his length and girth; this man knew how to play the body like a fiddle.

His hand snaked around to my front and pinched my nipple, bringing a small yelp from me. Then, he trailed his fingers south and pressed right on my clit before he started rubbing it.

"Cum." He commands and my body listens.

I grip my blankets and stifle my moans with my pillow.

He moves his arm across my shoulders and pulls my up onto my knees. My back is pressed against his chest and he's still thrusting into me.

Oh my, how many times was he going to make me cum? I was exhausted in the most delicious way. I've heard of multiple orgasms but I'd never experienced them before, until now.

"Shit. I'm close. Can you cum for me one more time, Princess?" He asks as he bites and nips at my ear and moves onto my neck. I feel his teeth sink into my skin and then he sucks.

He wants me to cum again? Can I? I didn't think it was possible but I can feel my body tensing. Holy shit it feels so good.

"I'm there. Cum with me." He groans and I feel him exploding around me. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." He grunts as he keeps going and I'm lost in my own orgasm.

He eases us back onto the bed and we're both breathing hard. I feel like I've just run my first marathon.

He kisses the spot on my neck where he bit and rubs my back. He's too good to be true. My body feels like jelly.

"Ready to shower?" He asks and I roll onto my back.

I need one but I can't move right now. "Give me a minute." I'm still trying to calm my breathing and my heart rate. "I can't move my legs."

He chuckles into my neck and runs a thumb over the spot that's sensitive. "Fuck, I'm sorry Princess. I left a mark."

I grab a small mirror I have on the end table of my bed and bring it up to have a look. "Dammit, Grant. What are we, teenagers?" It was already purple. Had he really sucked and bit that hard? I hadn't felt it.

I want to hate it, I do. I hate hickeys. But why doesn't my body warm as I look at it? I shouldn't like that he marked me. I'm not a damn teenager. We're fucking SHIELD agents. I can't be walking around with a hickey.

"Sorry, sweetheart. I didn't know I was doing it. I was in the moment. I lost control." He leans in and kisses the spot. "You make me lose control. I've never done that."

Fuck. Why does that fact turn me on?

He sits up and I watch him roll the condom off. He knots it and throws it in the trash. Turning, he slaps my ass. "Come on, Princess. We have to shower."

I cock an eyebrow at him. "And what will you be wearing?"

It takes him a second to realize he doesn't have anything to wear. He looks down at himself. "Damn. I really need a shower."

I laugh. I go looking for a pair of sweats and my oldest t-shirt. I hand them to him and he eyes them before trying to give them back to me.

"I'm not wearing clothes some guy left here." He sounds angry.

I smile, holding back my laugh. I like how jealous he gets. I'm sure that's an unhealthy reaction but I don't care. I roll my eyes at him. "They're mine, you doofus. I like sleeping in big sweats during the winter and that shirt is mine. It's the biggest I have but it still might fit you a little tight."

He nods and takes the clothes, throwing them on. I grab a pair of clothes, two towels, my shower caddy and we head down to the showers.

We go into separate stalls, although we're right next to each other. He keeps sneaking peaks over the wall and I scold him. He laughs at me and keeps doing it anyway.

When we reach my room, he changes into his clothes from yesterday and heads off to his room to get dressed. We're heading over to my parent's house so that he can meet them. We arranged everything last night.

I'm both excited and scared. My mom never liked Miles and let me and him both know it with the looks she'd give him. My dad has always been easier going. He likes everybody.

I get ready and try not to be nervous. I've heard my parents talk about Grant before. They knew of him because he was at the top of every class in SHIELD. He was quite impressive. But just because they liked him as a SHIELD Agent, didn't necessarily mean they were going to like him as my boyfriend.

**When will you be coming?

I roll my eyes at my mom's text.

**Soon. I just finished getting ready. Just waiting for him to meet me here.

**Did you invite Grant to Thanksgiving?

**Yes, mom.

**Are you rolling your eyes at me?

**Me? I would never.

**I'm calling your grandmother today to tell her to add an extra plate for dinner. Will Fitzsimmons be joining us this year or are they going home?

**They'll let me know tonight. Grant may not come either.

**What? Why?

**Mom, I just started dating him. Can we please just see how it goes tonight before you make any more plans?

**Fine. I'll hold off on calling your grandmother. Tell Grant to drive safe.

**Go bug dad and leave me alone. I'm sure he's getting into trouble.

She always knows when she's bugging me because she backs off. My mom and I get along great but sometimes she's stifling. She and dad got worse after John but I can't say that I blame them. If my kid was kidnapped and tortured, I'd coddle them too when I got them back.

Shit.

His voice echoes in my head. "Again! Leave her under longer!" I hear him yelling as I choke. The feeling of drowning hits me and I grab for something.

The comforter beneath me grounds me. I gasp for air and I try to focus on my room. I'm not with him. I'm in my room and I'm safe. I'm not underwater. I'm in my room.

Fuck. It usually takes more than just the thought of his name to take me under. What the hell is happening lately? I've gotten so much better with my flashbacks.

His yells seem far away now but I still rub my ear with my shoulder. The knock on my door makes me jump and John's voice disappears altogether.

My hands are clammy and my heart rate is going a mile a minute. I take a deep breath and make my way to the door. I have to call Dr. Hart and make an appointment. I shouldn't have skipped it yesterday.

Grant stands looking as handsome as ever, wearing his signature black Henley and some dark jeans. His smile disappears as he takes my face in.

"Princess, what's wrong? Are you ok? You don't look so good." He places his hand gently on my upper arm and the other cradles my face.

I give him a gentle smile. "I'm ok. Really." I know he knows there's something wrong. He also knows that I'm keeping something from him but I'm not ready to tell him.

Once he knows what happened to me, he's going to look at me differently. He's going to pity me. I don't want to see that in his eyes. Every time I have an episode, I see that look in Fitzsimmons, my parents and even in Nat and Clint's eyes.

Grant looks disappointed in my answer but he nods. "Ok. Ok. Do you need something to eat or drink before we head off?"

"No. I'm good. Let's go." I grab my bag and phone and follow him out the door.

As we get to his jeep, my phone dings.

I open the text from Jemma, as I hop in and put my seatbelt on.

**Your mom thought you might be nervous today so she asked us to join you. Is that ok?

I smile.

**Yes! I know it'll put Grant more at ease. We'll see you both there.

"Fitzsimmons are coming to my parents." I tell Grant when he joins me in the car.

His face breaks out into a wide smile. "Good. Takes some of this pressure off. At least I know they already like me. Plus, the attention won't all be on me." He pulls out of his parking spot and we head off.

He inputs the address on the GPS and we're off.

"Oh, the attention will still be all on you." I clarify. "But at least you'll have more people in your corner if things get uncomfortable."

He looks over at me a little nervous. "Why would things get uncomfortable?"

I shrug. "My parents can be a little intrusive. I'm their only child, so they tend to be a little overprotective. And I don't know if you know this about me or not but I'm a daddy's girl."

He smiles at that. "That, I already knew, Princess." He takes my hand in his and sighs. "So, what am I walking into here?"

"My mom can be a little scary. She won't go easy on you. She can be too serious sometimes and she's not impressed easily. My dad is a total nerd who gets along with everybody BUT you are dating me so I don't think he'll go easy on you. He didn't with Miles at first. You'll have to impress them both. No pressure." I was having a good time teasing him.

"I've met them both before, you know. It went well. They were impressed with my scores in my classes." He's trying to look confident but I can see he's a little nervous.

I tease him again. "They might have been impressed with future Agent Grant Ward but they're meeting Boyfriend Grant Ward. That's entirely different." There was no need for him to find out just how much my parents liked Agent Grant Ward.

He didn't say anything for the rest of the ride.

After letting him suffer for a while, I thought I'd ease him some. "Relax. You'll be fine. You're kind of likable when you're not being a total ass."

Thank God he chuckles at this. "Only kind of likable?" He arches one his eyebrows.

I nod. I'm not going to feed his ego. He has too many damn instructors and fans at the academy for that.

He chuckles and we drive in peace the rest of the way. He seems more relaxed. He doesn't look stressed whatsoever when we pull up to my parent's house.

He looks at the house for a second and I follow, trying to see what he sees in the house I grew up in. It looks like a normal house to me. It's not huge but it is a little big for three people. It's a two-story, five-bedroom house with a swimming pool outback.

My parents liked having extra rooms in the house in case we had guests over, which worked out because when you work with SHIELD you have friends who can't get home after a mission. My parent's home was always open to agents.

"What?" I finally ask because he's been looking at the damn house for too long.

He looks over at me with a small smile. "It looks normal. Seems like a good place to grow up in." His eyes are warm as he tells me.

I feel both great and awful. I know he means it as a compliment but after learning about his parents, I hate to think he didn't have a safe place to sleep in.

"Ok. I'm ready. You ready?" He asks me.

I nod. "Ready to watch you try not to hit on my mom." I smile as he rolls his eyes and exits the car and comes around.

I notice my mom and dad at the front door as he opens my door and helps me out.

I flush. He holds my hand and lets me take the lead to my parents.

"Hi, honey." My dad is the first to step forward and give me a hug. Grant drops my hand and I hug my dad back.

"Hi, dad. Miss me?" I chuckle.

He shrugs but smiles, "Eh."

We step away from each other and I turn to my mom with a smile on my face. I drop it once I see the look she's giving me.

Shit. She's mad. What the hell happened since I last text to her? "Mom." I say carefully.

She steps forward to kiss my cheek but whispers in my ear, "I got a call from Dr. Hart's office."

Shit. I place a kiss on her cheek and step back. I try giving her a smile but it must look more like a wince. "It was a mistake. It won't happen again. Can we talk about it later?" I ask her.

She knows I don't like telling anyone that I see a therapist.

She holds my eyes for a minute. She's really upset and I don't think she's going to drop it but my dad helps me out.

"Melinda." He both warns and requests at the same time. I don't know how he does that but it eases my mom.

Her eyes soften just a smidge before nodding. "Fine. Later."

I turn back to Grant who is trying his hardest not to look like he's trying to make out what our exchange was about.

I clear my throat. "I know you've met before but I guess this time is a little different. Mom, Dad, this is Grant Ward, my boyfriend."

Mom's fake smile appears on her face which is weird because she's never met a guy I'm dating and given them a smile.

Grant greets them both and shakes their hands.

"You didn't have to put on a show of being a gentleman." My dad smiles. "We know things like that no longer happen."

Grant and I share a frown. "Dad, what are you talking about?" I ask as we follow my mom inside the house.

"Opening the car door." My dad motions for us to sit on the couch.

I roll my eyes. "Trust me. That wasn't for show. Grant always opens the door for me. It was kind of annoying at first and he got offended when I tried doing it myself but," I shrug, "I got used to it. I'm trying to figure out what else I can have him doing for me."

I turn to him to catch the end of his eye roll. I grin. He got that from me.

"That's a surprising thing for someone your age to do." My mom gives Grant a curious look.

I see his light blush and chuckle. He quickly flashes me a warning look. He thinks I'm going to out his crush and I just might. I'm still not sure I want to do that to him.

"I guess it got drilled in me by Vic and Izzy." He shrugs. "It's one of the things they insisted I do before I went on my first date."

Of course, they start asking him all kinds of questions about him after that. Where did he grow up? Like they haven't looked at his file. How well he knows Victoria Hand and Isabelle Hartley? Again, like they didn't know. Why he joined the academy? How he's liking it? If he sees himself doing this his whole life? On and on and on.

I'm impressed though. Grant doesn't seem fazed by any of their questions and keeps his composure. He's impressing me but I think he's had enough.

"I thank that's enough for today." I interrupt. "Jeez, let the guy breathe. He's not being interrogated."

My dad frowns with a smile. "We're not in—"

"Uh-huh." I say. "You didn't even bring us drinks before you started with him." I shake my head. "Shame. What would Lao Lao say?"

I smile sweetly at my mom as I tease her about it. My grandmother would have her head for not being a good hostess.

My dad laughs and my mom gives me a look before standing up. There was that fake smile again. "Grant, can I get you something to drink?"

I hold back my laugh because I know she'll kill me.

The doorbell rings and I jump up. "I'll get that." I literally run to the front door. I yank both Fitzsimmons through the door without greeting them. "It's Fitzsimmons." I call over my shoulder a little too loudly. I grab their arms. "Thank God you guys are here. They just finished giving him the third degree. I think he needs a breather."

"Well, hello to you too." Fitz says as I drag them into the living room.

I smile when my dad and Grant come into view. "Fitzsimmons are here."

"I can see that." Dad gets up to greet them and just like always, they fall into a comfortable conversation.

I sit next to Grant and he hold my hand. "How you feeling?" I whisper to him.

"Like I just survived my first interrogation." He jokes.

I smile. "You did really good. I was impressed."

"How did I do compared to Miles?" He searches my eyes.

I look at him with amusement but I see he's not joking. "Why are you comparing yourself to Miles?" I roll my eyes. "You did good."

The rest of the day with my parents goes easier. Fitzsimmons being here is a huge help. They put Grant more at ease and I can see a budding friendship developing between Grant and Fitz already. I think Simmons might have a slight crush on him but I'm not worried.

She's not Sophie. I know she loved Fitz. Any idiot could see they were made for each other. She'd never do anything to jeopardize our friendship.

Grant keeps his hands to himself all evening. He's kept hand-holding to a minimum in front of my parents. Fitzsimmons leave right after dinner and promise to be here for Thanksgiving.

My mom suggests I give Grant the grand tour while her and dad pick up and I show him around. If he decides to come for Thanksgiving, he'll need to know the layout of the place.

MAY POV

I wait until Skye and Ward are out of earshot before turning to my dear husband. "I don't like this. I told you not to do this, Phil. It's a bad idea."

"Mel, we'll discuss this later." Phil leans over, making sure both Skye and Ward are not close by.

"No. We're discussing it now." I throw my napkin on the table as I get up. "You lied to me. We said we'd figure out a way to keep Skye safe without involving that boy." I point at the door our daughter and Ward had gone out through.

"I know but there was no other way, Melinda. If we got anyone else to protect her, she'd notice getting followed. This makes more sense. Grant Ward is at the top of his class. He can watch out for her without getting noticed." Phil argues with me. He's trying to persuade me. He doesn't want to anger me more than I already am.

"How much does he know? What did you do, Phil?" I asked. I'm trying not to bite his head off right now.

He sighs. "We've yet to bring him in to talk to him." He looks a little afraid.

"What do you mean?" I clench my jaw. What the hell has my husband done?

"Fury came up with it." He throws in and I give him a look to explain. "They were given an assignment. They were led to believe that everyone in their class was getting one."

"What was the assignment?" I push.

"They have to pretend to be a couple for the next couple of months. They were told they were being watched to it had to be believable."

"What?!" I yell quietly. "Phil, this is worse than what I thought. Are you kidding me? Phil, Skye has had a crush on that boy for more than a year. She's only going to be hurt by this."

"Calm down, Mel. I've talked to all their instructors. Everyone on campus tells me they hate each other. He's the perfect solution to our problem. He can watch her and take care of her. If he's pretending to be her boyfriend, he'll always be around. She'll have protection without us having to worry."

"I'm already worrying." How could he be so stupid? It was clear Skye and Grant didn't hate each other. How was I the only one seeing it? "Phil, your daughter wouldn't bring someone to the house to meet us if it was fake and she wouldn't bring them over for Thanksgiving."

"Mel, it's been a week. They can't go from hating each other to being in a real relationship in a week. Fury and I are calling him into his office tomorrow. You worry too much. Our daughter will be safe. She won't get her heartbroken. Please relax and trust me on this. Grant Ward does not date. I've looked into him. From what I found; I wouldn't let him anywhere near Skye if I thought he had a chance with her. He's the last thing I want for her. Our daughter is too smart to fall for someone like him, especially after that good for nothing Miles. Trust me. All you've seen tonight should make you proud. Our daughter is already undercover and she hasn't even made it out of the Academy."

I shake my head. I don't believe it and I don't agree with it. "What did you find out about him?" Maybe I was missing something.

"He's a total womanizer. He sleeps around, Mel. He doesn't date. He talks nothing but trash about our daughter and believe me if I didn't need that little shit, I wouldn't allow him ten feet from her. She hates him. Please believe me. We have nothing to worry about. He's the furthest thing on her mind. She sees it as nothing but as an assignment. And just so he doesn't get any funny ideas, I plan on talking to him tomorrow."

I still don't like it but what's done is done. There's nothing to do now. I just have to make sure to keep a closer eye on Skye. I don't want her falling for him.

Phil takes me in his arms. "I won't let anything happen to her."

I nod. "I can't lose her, Phil."

"We can't lose her." He clarifies and I feel tears fall from my eyes.

"It almost killed me the last time." I admit pain courses through my body remembering the time I thought I'd lost her.

I'd killed John Garrett with my own hands for what he'd done. The man who we thought our friend for half our lives had nearly taken her life away. He'd tried to get answers from her that even I didn't have.

When we'd found her, it was like we'd found a shell. "We're just not getting her back, Phil." It had taken a long time to get her to where she was. She was going through therapy. I'd seen her flashbacks. I'd heard her pain. She still wouldn't talk to us about it. We knew she was tortured but didn't know the extent of it.

She still couldn't go in the water and I had ideas of what that meant but I tried not to think about it too much. John was dead. I had to keep fighting for my daughter because the men he'd worked for were back and they wanted her. We just didn't know why yet.

"We're not going to lose her again. Nick's doing all he can to find out what's going on." Phil holds me tighter.

I wipe the tears from my face. "We have another issue." I tell him, stepping out of his arms and grabbing the plates off the table.

"What" He helps and follows me to the kitchen.

"I got a call from Dr. Hart's office right before she got here." I set the plates in the sink. "She skipped her therapy session again yesterday, Phil."

I grab the plates he's holding as I watch his face go from worried to angry.

"Skye!" He yells and turns on his spot before running out of the kitchen.

I didn't expect that reaction. I hurry after him. "Phil! Phil!" I yell in a soft voice. "Phil!"

He doesn't listen to me as he calls out for Skye again. I shake my head. This is not what Skye needs right now.

"Phil, for god's sake. Will you stop?"

"No, Melinda. She knows how important it is to keep her appointments. She agreed with Fury. It's the only reason she's still in the Academy." He says over his shoulder and he calls for her again.

"Dad, what's going on?" Skye comes down the hallway that leads into the spare bedrooms.

"You and I need to have a talk, young lady." Phil's voice is clipped.

Skye looks to me and I give her a look. She doesn't need to be scolded but if she is, it's better coming from him than me.

"Come on, Ward." I signal for the boy to follow me. "They're going to need a minute."

The tension can be cut with a knife.

Ward nods and gives Skye a look. I don't like the look exchange but I'm going to trust Phil on this that he's no good for our daughter. Skye is smart. After what happened with Miles, she wouldn't let herself get close to someone like him. Phil was right. I was going to trust my daughter.

He follows me but we're not five feet away when Skye calls out, "Try to control yourself, mister." I can tell by her tone that she's trying to make a joke, I just don't understand it.

I look at her curiously but she just shakes her head and chuckles at Ward's expense. When I turn to him, he flushes and shakes his head at her.


	8. Chapter 8

SKYE POV

It's Monday and my morning is not going well. I didn't sleep right and classes have been dull. I refuse to believe it's because I spent the night away from Grant Ward.

He only slept the night Saturday, so there was no time for me to get used to him being there, so why in the hell had I tossed and turned in bed all night?

I couldn't meet Grant for lunch today because he was meeting Trip at the pool. The Academy had a bogus swim team to compete against the other two academy's and they were part of the team. So, they had practice and it didn't help my mood.

I tried to focus on the fact that Grant was going home with me for four days. He'd after decided coming back to campus last night that he was going to go. Things had gone well at my parents. They seemed to like him and he hadn't felt too weird. It helped that he knew Fitzsimmons would also be there.

I am racing to Blake's class to finally meet Grant. I've texted him twice but haven't gotten anything in return which makes me uneasy but I refuse to be the psycho girlfriend who freaks out when her boyfriend doesn't immediately answer.

I can't wipe the stupid smile off my face when I go through the classroom door and he's already there, sitting on my desk.

His eyes catch mine and the same stupid smile appears on his face and the butterflies start-up in my stomach.

He visually relaxes and I approach at a normal pace, my heart rate is running a mile a minute. When I reach him, he takes me by the hand and pulls me to him.

Thank God, we're both early so the classroom is nearly empty. Professor Blake is still not here.

"There you are, Princess. I've missed you today." He wraps his arms around my waist and my arms immediately go around his neck. He presses a kiss on my lips. It's quick but it puts me at ease.

"I've missed you too if you can believe it." I chuckle. "How was your practice with Trip?"

He leans his head on my shoulder. "Achingly long." He whines. "What are we doing today? You owe me food."

I giggle and just then, the door opens and people start filtering in. A few look our way, so I step back to take my seat.

I notice his pout and my giggle continues. He's so adorable sometimes. "I'm sorry. How do I owe you food?" I arch an eyebrow at him. "You're the one who ditched me for lunch."

"You owe me lunch because you were rude and never responded to my text this morning." He tells me as he sits next to me. "What kind of girlfriend ignores her boyfriend all day?" He shakes his head in fake shame.

My mouth falls. "Me! I text you back. It's you who didn't respond."

He gives me a look like he doesn't believe me. I roll my eyes and take out my phone, handing it to him. He takes it and looks at it. He frowns and hands me my phone back.

He checks his pockets and then leans over to grab his bag and starts rummaging through it.

"What are you looking for?" I ask.

"I think I might have left my phone in my room." He says with his head deep in his bag. "Can you call Trip real quick? He should be in our room. Ask him if my phone is there."

I dial Trip's number.

"Hey, baby girl. Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Trip's jolly voice comes through. I miss him. I haven't hung out with him in a week.

"Yea. Blake's not here yet. Can you check to see if Grant's phone is there? He says he might have left it there."

"Yea. It was going off when I got in." Trip's voice changes. "Can I talk to him for a sec?"

I frown at the attitude change. "Yea. Hold on." I turn to Grant and he frowns at my facial expression. "Trip." I tell him and he takes the phone.

"Hey. Is my pho—" Grant stops talking because I assume Trip interrupted him. Whatever Trip is telling him, it's putting him in a bad mood. His back stiffens and he pinches the bridge of his nose. "How am I—I heard you the first time."

I've heard Grant in a bad mood but I've never seen him like this. He looks pissed. What in the hell is Trip telling him?

"I'll talk to you about this later." Grant snaps and I see Agent Blake walk through the door. "Blake is here," Grant tells Trip, "we'll talk later." He ends the call and hands it to me. The back of his neck is red. He doesn't look at me for the rest of the class.

I want to know what the hell Trip said to put Grant in such a foul mood. So, instead of my spirits being brightened by sitting here with, Grant, I am now being ignored.

Five minutes before class is up, Blake dismisses everyone early and calls Grant and me up to his desk. Grant and I turn to each other with the same confused expression.

We both stand and walk to his desk.

"How's the assignment going?" Blake asks without skipping a beat.

"Good." We both say at the same time.

Blake looks between us. "You will be checking in with me once a week until this assignment is up. In addition to looking like a couple, you'll both need to keep an eye for anyone watching you both. Let me know if you can make out who the student or Professor is who is watching you."

I nod, completely forgetting that somebody would be watching us to see if we look like a real couple. I'm not worried about the relationship part but now I feel weird remembering that I'm being watched.

"I'll be emailing you both with things to watch out for and I want reports on what you're doing to keep up this charade." Blake starts gathering his things. "Ms. Coulson, can I get a minute with Mr. Ward please?"

I nod. "Sure." I gather my things and turn to Grant. "I'll meet you outside."

Thankfully I have a minute to think of something to tell Grant about where I'll be for the next hour. I have to meet Dr. Hart and forgot to think of something to tell Grant. I don't want to tell him I'm seeing my therapist.

If I tell him I have a therapist, he'll have questions and I'm not ready to answer any of them. I don't know that I'm ready to tell him about it. I still can't talk about it with my damn doctor.

A couple of minutes later, Grant comes out and he has a weird look on his face.

"Hey. You ok? What did he want?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "Nothing really. I need to turn somethings in next week." He gives me a small smile. "Listen, can we meet in like two hours? I forgot I have some things to do but I'm free for the rest of the day."

Oh, thank goodness. Now I don't have to come up with something for therapy. "Sure. But don't forget I have boxing with Trip today, we do some weights and then I do my five-mile run."

He gives me a look and cocks his eyebrow. "I thought we agreed you'd go easier on that workout schedule of yours?"

"We didn't really agree. You gave me your opinion and—"

"And you AGREED to slow down." He interrupts reminding me.

I groan. "Fine. But I haven't seen Trip all week. You've monopolized all my time. I'll take it easy today and I'll even skip the weights. But I have to run. How about that?"

He looks at me for a second before nodding. "Fine but I'm joining you guys."

My mouth drops. "Why?"

"Because you ignored me all day." His eyes burn into mine. He's as frustrated with the day as I had been before seeing him.

The thought makes me smile. "You're the one who forgot your phone." I remind him.

He shrugs. "It doesn't matter. We will hit the gym together and then you and I are going out for some yogurt."

"That defeats the point of working out." I tell him.

"You can afford the calories. Besides, your ass looks perfectly fine to me." He says and slaps said ass.

"Grant!" I slap his chest and he chuckles. I quickly looking around to see if anyone saw.

Thankfully we're alone in the hallway. "Ok. Let's get our things done separately and meet up once we're done before meeting Trip."

I nod. "I'll text you. Answer this time." I give him a look as I reach up to give him a quick kiss on the lips. He catches me off guard as his arms snake around my waist and pulls me into his body.

Our kiss deepens and I moan into the kiss.

"Damn, I love that moan." He gently bites my bottom lip and leans his forehead against mine. "I really did miss you, Princess."

I take in a deep breath and sigh. "I missed you too."

After another kiss, we detangle ourselves and both go our own way. I wonder what he has to do. I don't worry too much about it.

I'm too worried about this session with Dr. Hart. I'll have to tell him about my flashbacks and panic attacks. I don't know if I want to tell him about Grant but my head is screaming to be totally honest. I want to finish therapy. I want to be able to get into water without panicking. I want these panic attacks to stop. I want to stop having flashbacks. Fury promised me he'd let me be a full-blown agent if I got my shit in order and if Dr. Hart signed off on me.

I drag my feet to Dr. Hart's office and take a deep breath before going in. I hate therapy and I hate it even more because it's actually helping me.

WARD POV

Why in the hell did Director Fury want to see me? And why had I been ordered by Agent Blake to lie to Skye about where I was going?

I have a bad feeling about this. Director Fury hardly ever showed his face at the Academy and when he did, it was best we stayed out of his way. In the time I'd been in the Academy, I'd seen him once and that was only because he'd been so pissed at a student, he'd come himself to kick him out of the program.

I make my way to his office and let the receptionist know I have a meeting with the Director. She rings him to announce my arrival and tells me to go in.

"They're ready for you." She adds as I walk toward the door.

They? I frown. What the hell is going on?

As soon as I step through the office, I see Director Fury with Agent Hill beside him. I'm surprised to see them both here.

Damn. Did I do something wrong? What the hell did I do? I begin to panic and that's when I see Skye's dad, sitting on a couch. I'm taken aback. Why would he be here?

"Agent Ward." Fury greets in his usual, serious tone.

"Director." I shake his hand.

Agent Hill nods to me and I extend my hand to shake hers. "Congratulations on the promotion." I give her a small smile.

She nods again but doesn't say anything.

Agent Coulson walks over. "Grant." He greets and shakes my hand.

"Agent Coulson, sir."

"Take a seat Ward." Director Fury instructs.

I sit and everyone else does too. I wait for them to start.

"Coulson." Fury prompts.

"Ward, how much do you know about my daughter?" Coulson asks.

I frown. What does that even mean? "What do you mean by that, Sir?"

"Do you know why she transferred to Operations?" Coulson leans forward.

"She—" I knew only part of the story, so I give them what I have. "She said she'd always wanted to be in Operations but when you got sick, she decided to go into Communications. When you got better, she said you talked and she decided to transfer."

Coulson smiles and nods.

"Agent Ward, you were given an assignment." Agent Hill speaks up and I turn to her.

"Yes, ma'am."

"What was that assignment?" She questions.

"I was partnered with Skye. Agent Blake informed us that he wanted us to pretend to be together. He said our arguing was driving him up the wall and he wanted us to learn to get along. We were to let people think we were together for the next couple of months and told us that we were being watched. He met with us today about reporting in on how it was going." I want to add that it's gone past that but something tells me to keep it to myself for the moment.

"You were given that assignment because my daughter is being threatened." Coulson looks me in the eye and I can see he's angry. My heart stops. Threatened? By who? Why?

My heart accelerates and I can feel myself clam up. Who'd want to hurt Skye?

"We could not assign her any security without making her aware of the danger. You were given the assignment because we chose you for your skills. You are our eyes for the time being." Fury adds.

"Skye would never agree to security detail." Coulson tells me. "And I hear you've seen the security detail on her file." Damn. The security detail I saw on her file meant me as the detail. "Tony Stark has me on speed dial." Coulson warns. Fuck. My eyes snap to the ground and I try to stop from gulping.

"Ward, with you pretending to be Skye's boyfriend, it gives us the advantage of keeping an eye on her and it doesn't raise a red flag to anyone else who might be watching." Agent Hill's voice catches my attention.

"I know who you are, Ward." Coulson's voice is threatening. They are giving me a headache by jumping around. Why can't one of them talk? "The only reason you are getting this assignment is because you're at the top of your class. Hell, you're one of the top students we've had in years. But I also know you've given my daughter nothing but shit this past year and a half."

I open my mouth to agree but I don't have the chance because he starts talking again.

"She's never said a word about it but I've been watching you. You've taken every opportunity to laugh and humiliate her. You talk about how she's privileged to everybody who will listen." My stomach turns. Talking and asking Skye for forgiveness was one thing but now her dad knew. He looks like he hates me and I don't have a defense. "I know about your reputation around campus. I don't trust you with my daughter. I was too kind to Miles but after what that scumbag did to my daughter, I don't think I need to worry about her falling for you. I know we gave you this assignment but if I so much as think you're trying to take it further; you'll deal with me. You're no good for my daughter. You may be a fine agent someday but I'll make sure you pay if you try to weasel your way into her life."

Fuck. Fuck. It wasn't like anything he said was false. I do—did sleep around. But I won't hurt Skye.

"You are to keep all this information to yourself. Nobody can know what your true assignment is. You are to act with her and with your classmates and you will report to us with any suspicious information." Fury demands.

"Ward, Skye can't know that she's in danger. It will set her back and she's come a long way in her therapy." Hill's voice is softer as she tells me this.

My eyes snap to Hill. She doesn't look like an agent at the moment. She looks like a friend. I can see that she cares about Skye.

I should have guessed Skye was in therapy.

"Skye was kidnapped by John Garrett over a year and a half ago." Fury tells me. Kidnapped? Skye? "She was kept and tortured for five days before we found her. He wanted information-information she never had. Those same people who were working with Garrett have resurfaced and what little intel we do have, we know they want her. They've already tried getting to her but Barton was there in time to stop them." Tortured? She was tortured for five days?

The room spins and my vision blurs. For a moment, I can't hear anything they're saying. A loud ringing takes over my ears.

Bile rises from my stomach. What the hell? Skye was tortured. Why does the name Garrett sound so familiar? Why did he torture Skye? Who the hell wanted her and why? When had they tried taking her?

I'm losing my damn mind. I have too many questions but my mouth doesn't seem to work. I have questions and I all I keep thinking about is Skye. My sweet, Skye. Her panic attacks were from her flashbacks. She'd been recalling being tortured. My mouth tastes nasty. I feel sick to my stomach.

"Ward." Coulson's voice echoes in my head but I can't seem to think straight. "Agent Ward?"

I slowly turn to him. "Sir?" I try to focus on him and quiet my screaming brain.

"Not a word about this to my daughter. Do you understand?"

I slowly nod. "Yes, sir." But how? How could I leave here with all this information and not talk to Skye? She wasn't an assignment.

Skye was—she was…. everything. Fuck. Holy fuck. I think I love her. Am I in love with her? I think I'm in love with her loud mouth, sassy, stubborn, insufferable, sarcastic… beautiful, kind, intelligent, caring ass.

I'm freaking out. And I know this is the dumbest thing to focus on but why am I only realizing this now? And with Fury, Hill and Coulson to witness?

"Ward, it's imperative that you report all weird activity to us. Her life depends on it." Hill tells me and I nod.

I feel like a zombie. I can't think straight. Skye had been tortured. Skye is being watched. Someone had tried to kidnap her again. I was in love with her. I had to lie. Coulson hated me and I was in love with Skye.

"There's an envelope on the end table there. It has a cell phone with some direct numbers for you to call in case of an emergency. Keep it with you at all times. Agents Barton and Romanoff will contact you with further instructions. That's all for now, Ward. You're excused." Fury dismisses me.

Again, I nod and slowly get up from my seat. I grab the envelope and throw it in my bag before turning to leave.

What was I going to tell Skye? How could I face her? I'd learned so much in such little time. Could I look Skye in the eye and lie?

I had to. I knew I had to. Fury has been doing this for decades. If they all told me she was in danger then I had to listen. I don't know why they want to keep her in the dark but I know there must be a reason. This was an order and I had to follow it. My gut told me to tell her but I know I won't. I was going to keep her safe, no matter what it cost, my relationship with her included.

She would find out. I knew she would. She'd hate me when that day came but if it meant we kept her safe and alive, I'd take it.

Her safety was more important to me than my happiness. I could live in a world where Skye hated me. I couldn't live in a world where she didn't exist.

SKYE POV

I was surprised at Dr. Hart when he said I didn't have to tell Grant about my issues. We talked about relationships and trust and before I knew it, the hour was up.

I want to tell Grant. I'm just not ready. It has nothing to with trust. I trust Grant with my life. Every ounce in me is telling me that it's too fast but I can't help the way I feel. Loving Grant was never my issue. My issue was telling him.

I quickly change and get ready for my workout.

**Trip and I will meet you at the gym, Princess.

I smile at the text.

I grab my stuff and make my way to the gym.

Grant and Trip take turns with me in the boxing ring but I can't help but feel weird around Grant. He's acting different and I can't put my finger on how.

He's never been overly affectionate in public so that can't be why I feel weird. I can also feel the tension between him and Trip. I ask them if everything is ok and they both assure me everything is fine. I squint at them both trying to get a read on them. I don't really believe them but they're not going to tell me much.

As promised, I skip the weights and Trip heads off while Grant stays to run with me.

"Hey, you ok?" I ask him one more time as we're stretching.

Trip is gone and he still hasn't looked me in the eye or spoken to me.

"Yea. Sorry." He apologizes before turning to me. My favorite smile is on his face. "Just thinking about exams tomorrow and then Thanksgiving."

He steps over to me and I straighten up. He leans down and gives me a soft, slow kiss. I smile into it and I run my hands up his arms until they're around his neck.

Mmm. I love his lips. "You'll do fine with both. Exams come easy to you and with the way you handle my mom and dad, there's not a doubt in my mind that my grandma will love you. My grandpa is a lot like my dad, he likes everyone."

He gives me a small smile. "If you say so, Princess." He steps back. "You ready?"

I nod and we're off. We run in total silence. It still surprises me how comfortable we are with each. I focus on my breathing and try not to think about Thanksgiving. I'm getting excited. I can't wait for my grandparents to meet Grant.

I look over at Grant and he seems to be deep in thought. He doesn't look to be winded and barely has any sweat on his body.

I roll my eyes but I'm smiling. This man is a God.

I speed up when we have half a mile left in our run. He keeps up with me easily, so I speed up some more.

I want to smile but I keep it off my face. I need to make sure I'm breathing correctly. As I feel him approach me, I push myself to go faster run.

He's on my heels as I push myself to run as fast as I can. I know he can catch up but I want to see if he'll go past me. I want him to go at full speed because I want to see if I can match his speed.

I'm really not surprised that it takes him no time to catch up to me but I am surprised that he doesn't take the challenge. He stays by my side for the rest of the mile until we reach our endpoint.

I'm trying to catch my breath and trying to figure out why he wouldn't push me. Grant is competitive by nature. Why wouldn't he blow past me?

I walk over to our water bottles and take a drink and toss him his water.

He nods thanks as he drinks.

"What was that?" He finally asks.

I shrug. "I wanted to see if I could catch up to you once you passed me. Why didn't you go faster?"

He looks at me for a second before shrugging himself. His breathing is labored but not as much as mine. He walks over and places a kiss on my temple. "I think we spent enough time apart today, don't you?"

His answer surprises me and I laugh. "Grant Ward, did those words actually come out of your mouth?" I tease.

He laughs and takes my hand, pulling me back towards the gym.

When we get to the gym, he pulls me into him for another kiss.

"Meet you out front." I say as I pull away.

"Or…" he smiles and pulls me back into his body, "we can conserve water and shower together." He cocks his eyebrow at me and I laugh.

I kiss him on the chin. "I think we'd be wasting water."

"How do you figure?"

"Because we won't just shower." I tell him. "We'll take longer than needed under that shower." I give him a stern look. "And someone can walk in."

He groans and drops his head back. "I wish we had our own private shower."

Goosebumps cover my body as I think about it. Heat gathers in my belly and between my legs. "Me too." The idea pops in my head without thought. "We'll have a shower to share in the next couple of days." I smile at him and make my eyebrows dance

He looks at me with a frown, not understanding.

I give him a look because he doesn't get it.

I see the light bulb turn on in his head and he looks surprised before he looks a little disgusted. "No. No. We are not showering—or doing that at your parent's house."

My jaw drops. "Why not?"

"Don't be like that. Skye, because it's your parent's house." He's looking at me like it's obvious.

"They're on an entirely different floor. We'll be at the end of the hall. Fitzsimmons will be sharing a room." I pout.

He rolls his eyes. "Fitzsimmons are not your parent's children. I don't think May or Coulson care. You on the other hand…"

"It's not like we're going to advertise it, Grant."

"I'm not chancing getting caught, thank you. Your dad will kill me. Your mom would help cover it up. They already don't like me." He says and slides his gaze from me to the ground.

I frown. Why would he say that? Everything went well when he met my parents on Sunday. "What do you mean they don't like you?"

Had one of them talked to him or said something to him? When? I tried thinking back on Sunday and if either of them had a moment with Grant when I wasn't around. I couldn't think of anything.

I'm still looking at him and he's still looking at the ground. "Grant?"

He finally looks up to me, sticks out his bottom lip and shakes his head. "I just mean that after what happened with Miles, they probably won't be trusting of me." His head falls to the side. His eyes look a little sad. "If they asked around campus about me Skye…"

He doesn't finish and I let my shoulders fall. "Hey." I place a hand on his face, cupping his cheek. "So what? We weren't together. I care about what you're doing now not what you did before."

He looks me straight in the eyes. "They might care, Princess. You know I've never dated but it doesn't mean I didn't hook up. You say you don't care but they might."

I lean up and kiss him. "I don't care, Grant. I don't. If they want to judge you on who you were before we got together then I don't want to hear it. They can think what they want." I sigh. "Look, I see the way some of these girls look at me. They look at me with pity because they think you're playing me but I don't care. I know what this is and you know what this is. Nobody else matters."

His arms snake around my waist. "Fuck everyone here. But I care about them but I care what your parents think, Princess. They're your parents."

I put my hands behind his neck. "Don't worry about it, Grant. Besides, why would my parents ask around about you? You're worrying about things that won't even happen. Come on. Let's go shower. No more worrying."

He eases into a smile and we walk hand in hand into the hallway that leads into the locker rooms. He goes one way and I go the other.

I take a quick shower and meet him out front.

"Hey. I got a text from Fitz." He tells me as he reaches for my hand.

I'm a bit surprised. "Fitz? Really?"

"Yea. We're gonna hang out tomorrow. Think you can do without me for a couple of hours?" He throws his arm around my shoulder and I put mine around his waist.

"Yea. I'll see if Simmons and Trip want to hang out. What are you guys going to do?"

He shrugs. "Maybe play video games. I don't know."

I smile. Fitz had never made an effort to hang out with Miles and Miles was never too happy when we hung out with Fitzsimmons. So, for Fitz and Grant to be hanging out, is everything to me.

The butterflies start back up in my stomach.

"Let's go get some yogurt before we head back to your room." He kisses the top of my head and I nod. I can't wait for Thanksgiving.

The rest of the night seems to go back to normal. After we get some yogurt, we head off to my room where we watch another movie.

We lay on my beg as we watch it and I snuggle up as much as I can to him. We're facing each other. I have my head on his chest and he has a hand laying on my hip. He randomly kisses my forehead but he's too into the movie to do anything else. I smile into his chest and drift off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

SKYE POV

I wake up and immediately know that Grant is gone. It takes me a moment to realize I've got something stuck on my forehead.

I growl as I pull it off. It's a damn post it. A smile replaces my growl. I blink a couple of times as I turn the post it to read it.

**Morning, Princess. I have to go get ready for classes. Text me when you wake up.—Ken 😉

I laugh and reach for my phone to text him.

**You've got to stop leaving notes on my forehead.

He answers almost immediately.

**Well, look who's awake.

What does he mean by that? I look at the time and see I woke up late. I jump out of bed. I have to be in class in forty minutes.

**I'm going to be late. Why didn't you wake me?

**I left early, Princess. I was going to give you another ten minutes of sleep and then call you.

I roll my eyes. That doesn't help me. I grab some clothes, my towel and shower caddy as I run down the hall to the showers.

I have a quick shower and rush to class. I make it in only minutes before class starts.

The class goes by unusually fast.

My phone dings and I smile when I see Grant's name appear on my screen.

**I forgot, I promised Bobbi that we'd study today for the exams tomorrow. I hate to ditch you last minute but I can't make lunch.

My smile falls.

**Ok. I guess I'll have to find someone else to keep me company.

A thought pops in my head and I decide to tease him.

**Too bad. I thought you deserved a treat today, so I wore my skimpiest outfit.

**Don't tease, sweetheart. Show me.

I laugh. I'm wearing regular jeans and button up flannel but he doesn't need to know that.

**I'll get whoever's keeping me company to snap a picture for you. 😉

I don't know what's up with me but I'm having fun. An idea flashes through my head and I rush down the hall and into a restroom. I put my stuff down as I unbutton my shirt.

My phone rings. It's Grant. I grin as I answer and put it on speaker. "I can't talk long. I'm between classes." I say as I continue working with my shirt.

"Who are you having lunch with?" His sexy voice warms me up. It sounds like he's talking through his teeth. His jaw sounds clenched.

I shrug with a smile like he can see me. "I don't know yet. I get offers all the time." I tease.

"Is that right?" His voice is lighter.

"Mmhm."

"It better be Trip." He growls. "You're really not going to show me what you're wearing?"

I smile, as I continue to fix my top.

"Mmmm. I'm thinking about it."

"Can I do something to convince you?" His voice is soft and persuasive.

I tie my top in the middle of my chest as tight as I can to let it show off my breasts.

I giggle and shake my chest into place. I push up my breasts and make sure my shirt is as tight as I can get it. "Let me think about it."

"Princess, you're killing me here."

My giggle turns into a laugh.

"You're enjoying this way too much." He tells me.

"I'm not really wearing my skimpiest outfit." I confess. "Although, you probably would appreciate it."

"Ok. Where are you? I can ditch next class." He sounds frustrated and I roll my eyes.

"You are not ditching. Stay where you are. I'll send you a picture." I tell him. "I'm sorry I teased you."

I turn the camera on and find a good angle so my top is shown as well as my cleavage. I make sure my flat tummy in also in the shot, along with my belly button. I wink and take the picture.

"I'm sending it." I tell him as I undo my shirt again to put it back to normal. There is no way I'm walking around like that around campus.

"Fuck." He curses and his voice goes from thick and hot to upset. "Skye, please tell me you're wearing a sweater or jacket over this? You can't seriously be walking around like that."

My smile falls. Why is he scolding me like I'm a child? "No, I don't have a sweater or a jacket. What is wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Go back to your room and change." He demands. I can hear him grinding his teeth.

"What? No!" He will not tell me what to do.

"Skye." He warns.

I huff. "Ugh." I don't want to fight with him. "Calm down, caveman. I'm not walking around like that. Jeez. I was teasing you and came into the bathroom to put it like this. It's back to normal." I confess but I still can't believe he'd act like that.

I can hear his breathing ease and it go back to normal.

"And I can wear it any way I damn well please." I spit out in anger.

"I'm sorry. I—I—I really don't know what to say. I—" he stops for a second, "I don't like the idea of other guys looking at you."

My mouth drops open, finally understanding him. He's jealous. "Grant Ward, you're jealous." I'm so shocked I say it out loud.

He doesn't answer right away. "Yes." He confesses. "Ok. Are you happy?" He's back to being frustrated but I think he's frustrated at himself and not me, so I smile. "I don't like the idea of you walking around like that when I'm not around."

"Are you done?" I ask. "I really need to get to class."

He gives me a frustrated growl. "You have this way of getting me riled up." He accuses. "I'll see you later and please don't tie your shirt up like that when I'm not around."

I sigh. "I can't make any promises."

"Skye." He warns again and I roll my eyes.

"You're unbelievable. I'll see you later."

"I'll take that as your agreement." I can hear a smile on his face. "Ok, alright. I hear you. I'm coming, Bobbi. I gotta go, Princess. See you later."

"Later, Ken." I tease and hear him laugh before he hangs up the phone.

I laugh as I shut my phone and throw it in my bag. I make sure my shirt is fixed and head out into the hallway.

I still have a stupid smile on my face as I turn the corner to class. I love teasing Grant and I actually like him being jealous. I've never liked it before but on him, it makes me hot. A little possessiveness never hurt anybody.

I'm not paying attention as I bump right into someone.

"Ooops. Sorry." I look up to look the person in the eyes and realize I've run into Kara. "Oh, Kara. Hi." We've never really gotten along but she's friends with Bobbi and Grant, so I should start being nicer.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't little Skye Coulson." She gives me a nasty look.

I make sure not to match her face of displeasure.

"Tell me something, Skye. I've heard some rumors but they can't possibly be true." We're the same height but she's wearing boots. She looks down at me with a sneer on her face.

"Well, you know better than to believe rumors." I'm already losing patience with her.

She cocks her eyebrow at me. "I heard through the grapevine that you're seeing Grant Ward."

I'm taken aback by her question. She's friends with Grant, how does she not know? I frown. Did he not tell her?

Something about my reaction brings a smile to her face. "I knew it was total bullshit." She starts to move past me.

"Wait. I'm sorry. I thought you knew." I stop her.

I can see her back stiffen before she turns back to me. "Thought I knew what?"

"Grant and I are seeing each other. Have been, since last week." I answer softly.

I can see the flash of anger cross her eyes. After a minute she rolls her eyes. "He'll get tired of fucking you in a couple of days, sweetheart. You aren't seeing each other. Don't let yourself believe there's anything more there than there actually is."

The venom in her voice makes my anger rise. Before I can say anything, she walks off.

It takes me a while to calm myself down enough to go into my next class. What the hell?! Why hadn't Grant told her about us? And who the hell does she think she is to talk to me like that?

I'm fuming just thinking about it. Class is agonizingly slow and I don't hear a word of what is being said as I debate texting Grant.

I grab my phone to start a text to him before deleting it and starting again. I erase that too and end up turning off my phone. I don't know what to say and I probably shouldn't be sending anything while I'm this pissed off.

As the day goes on, my anger subsides. There's a reason why Grant hadn't spoken to Kara about us and I still didn't know it and until I did, I wasn't going to throw a fit about it—or so I told myself. It was easier said than done.

I skip lunch and go to the library to get some studying in.

It was kind of annoying me that I hadn't heard from Grant. My last class is getting done and I can't wait to get to my room. My phone had been silent all day. When I finally pick it up after class, I see that it's off. I palm my face. I totally forgot about turning it off.

I gather my things as I turn it on and make my way out of class. All at once, my phone starts dinging with missed messages and voicemails. Altogether I have ten missed texts and two voicemails.

I check the texts first. I walk out into the hall and then make my way out of the building before I check who the texts are from.

Eight messages are from Grant.

**Hey, Princess. Sorry about how I acted. You can wear whatever you want.

**Hey, I just called and you didn't answer. Haven't heard from you. You ok?

**Is something wrong?

**Princess, are you mad at me? Why aren't you answering?

**Skye, I just talked to Fitz and he says you're not answering Simmons' calls. Where are you?

**Ok. I'm worried. I couldn't find you during lunch. Where are you, Skye?

**Answer me right now, Skye. You have five minutes or I'm looking up Tony Stark's number to have him find you.

My eyes bulge out at that text. Is he serious?!

**Just heard from Mr. Stark. It seems you are perfectly fine and in class. What the hell, Skye?!

I growl in frustration. How dare he call Tony. Dammit. He had no reason to be mad at me. I was mad at him!

I close his messages and open one from Simmons.

**Hey, are we still hanging out today? I called and left you a voicemail. Call me when you get a chance, Fitz tells me Grant is going crazy looking for you. Did you guys fight? You know I hate it when you don't answer. Don't make me worry.

My throat tightens. I know how worried she gets about me, especially because the last time I went MIA from my phone, I'd been kidnapped.

I open the last text from Tony.

**Hey, kid. Already having romance issues? Give the guy a call back, will you? He scared the shit out of me. Also, he gets points for calling me immediately not like that good for nothing Miles.

I roll my eyes and close my text messages. Knowing my voicemails are from Simmons and Grant, I skip them as I dial Simmons' number.

"Oh my god! Are you crazy?" She answers in a high pitched and very upset tone. "Do you know how worried I've been? We have been calling your phone nonstop since Grant told us you weren't answering his calls and text messages. How totally irresponsible and childish can you be?" Simmons' huffed into my ear.

"Are you done?" I asked with a sigh.

"No." She sounds upset. "Skye, for goodness sake."

"I know. I'm sorry Simmons."

"You're sorry." She fake laughs. "She's sorry." That last part she says away from the phone. "Yes, she finally called me. I don't know Fitz. She hasn't told—I told her—well, tell him she's fine—how am I—" She growls. "Skye, be a dear and text Grant that you're ok. He's chewing Fitz's ear off.

I close my eyes tight.

"I think we might have freaked him out more than he already was." She confesses. "When he told us that you were missing, we kind of freaked out given your last disappearance." She whispers this last part. "Ward, just give me a minute. I know but I just answered. Let me get answers from her." She groans. "Ward wants to know if you're ok?" She asks frustrated at him.

I sigh. "Yes."

"She's fine. Can I get a minute?" She quiet for a second. "I'll let her know."

"What's going on?" I ask because I'm losing patience.

"Ward is telling me I have five minutes to talk to you before he calls you and that you better answer. Honestly. He's so rude." She huffs once again. "Now, what is going on?"

"Nothing. Look, I'm sorry I worried you. I didn't mean to do that. I turned my phone off this morning and I forgot to turn it back on." I explain as I make my way across campus.

Simmons is silent for a moment. "You. Turned. Off. Your. Phone." She says each word carefully. "You? Skye Coulson?"

I want to yell out of frustration. This whole day has turned to crap. "Yes. I turned off my phone and I had a shitty day and I grabbed my phone to see why I hadn't received any messages and realized it was off. I wasn't ignoring anyone. I've been so frustrated that I genuinely forgot I turned it off. I'm serious Simmons." I know I'm taking my frustrations out on the wrong person. "I'm really sorry. Given—given my history, I can see why you all worried. I'm sorry."

"Skye, what happened? It's not like you to turn off your phone." Simmons' voice is now soft.

I'm nearing my building. I just have to cross this courtyard and parking lot. My shoulders sag. "I was having a great morning and then I ran into Kara and I let her get to me. I got upset and turned my phone off. And I've just been in my head all day." I look around, suddenly feeling like I'm being watched. "Hold on Simmons."

I leave the phone to my ear and scan my eyes around the courtyard and what I can see from the parking lot without making it obvious that I'm looking at my surroundings. Chills run up my arms. This doesn't feel right.

"Skye?" Simmons asks. "Hello? What's going on?"

"I—" I take a second to answer, trying to decide if I should tell her or not. I don't want her to worry. "Let me call you back."

I hang up and before I can drop my arm, my phone rings. I answer, still looking around me. "Hello?"

"Jeesus, Skye. I've been worried all day. What happened? I know you went to all your classes. What did I do? I'm sorry abou—"

"Grant, shut up for just a second." I interrupt Ward. The intensity of being watched is getting bigger.

"What is it?" Grant's voice is serious. He's no longer apologetic. This is his Agent of SHIELD voice. "Skye? Talk to me? What's going on?"

"I feel like I'm being watched but I don't see anyone." I answer honestly and I walk a little faster.

"What?" His tone is serious and deadly.

"I know Blake said we'd be watched but this is different, Grant. This—this isn't normal. I—I don't feel safe." I can feel it. It feels like something is coming for me. This isn't a student or teacher watching me for a grade. This is something different.

"Where are you?" He asks. "I'm on my way."

"Walking to my room. I'm walking past the main courtyard. I'm approaching the parking lot." I tell him, still scanning my surroundings. Nobody or nothing looks out of place.

And then I see it. A van at the end of the lot. It doesn't belong here. Not in this lot. It can't be a student's car and no teacher drives a van like that.

I stop cold. I can't move. I feel something over my head and I can feel my body being tossed around. I can hear wheels screeching on the road.

"She's waking up." I can hear a man say.

"I thought you drugged her?!" Another asks. I can feel my panic setting in. I remember that dizziness I felt. I remember the panic.

I struggle and whatever was on my face slides off. The men around me are blurry. I can't see straight.

"Cover her face!" One of the men order.

I can see blurry figures around me and I realize I'm lying on the floor on the back of a cargo van. I can see the roof of the vehicle over my head before something is thrown over my head. My hands and feet are tied.

"Shut her up! We can't have her screaming once we pull her out and into the building!" One of them shouts.

I can feel the pain in my head after being hit.

No! No! I'm not there. I'm not there. I'm at the Academy. I'm in the courtyard.

"Skye! Sweetheart! You have to answer me." Grant's voice is yelling and desperate in my ear. He sounds so far away. My vision blurs and I can see both the courtyard around me and darkness from under the cloth. I'm falling. I'm falling for the now and into my memories.

I try to slow my breathing but I realize I'm crying. I can feel myself crashing. I can't ground myself.

I taste blood running down from my mouth, nose and temple. I'm being hit through the cloth. One of them is trying to knock me out.

"We're almost there." One of my attackers announces.

"Skye!" It's Grant in my ear again.

"Please. Please." I beg.

"I'm coming sweetheart. I need you to talk to me, Princess. What's going on?" His voice is trembling. "Where are you?"

"I'm—I'm here. But I'm falling." I want to explain but I have no words.

The van comes to an abrupt stop and I'm being pulled out of the van. The cloth falls off my face once again when they drag me out. I can just make out an old building with lots of windows before a rag is placed over my mouth and nose.

"Don't fall. I'm here, Princess. Listen to my voice. Let me ground you. I'm right here. You're safe. I'm on my way to you. Do you hear me? Listen to sounds around you. Can you tell me if you see any trees? Can you hear birds? Are you near the fountain? Come back, sweetheart. You're not there. I'm coming. Talk to me. Talk to me." The more Grant talks, the more his voice becomes clearer.

I blink through my tears. I try my hardest to concentrate on my surroundings.

"Skye?" A familiar voice comes from behind me.

I turn.

"Are you ok?" Bobbi's smile drops. "Skye, what's wrong?" She grabs my arm and that does it. I can feel my memories falling away.

"Sweetheart, who is that?" Grant's voice comes from my phone and suddenly, things become clearer.

I can see Bobbi. I can see the trees behind her. I can hear the background noise and the men and their van begin to disappear.

"Bobbi." I answer.

"Ok. Ok. I'm coming. Stay on the phone with me. Talk to her. Have her walk you to your room. But I'm staying on the phone." Grant instructs me.

"Ok." I can barely manage to say above a whisper.

"Skye?" Bobbi looks at me worried. She's frowning and her hold on me tightens. I wince and she lets go. "Sorry. Are you ok?"

I take a deep breath to calm myself.

"Give her the phone. If you can't talk, I can do it." Grant tells me.

I shake my head. "No. Talk to me, please. I need to hear your voice."

"Ok, Princess. Ok." He agrees. "I'm right here. I'm on my way."

"Sorry, Bobbi." I try to give her a smile. I wipe my tears. "I just had a bad day. Can you walk me to my room?" I know I sound like I'm crazy but I still don't feel safe.

Suddenly, I remember what scared me in the first place.

"What is it?" Bobbi asks, coming to my side because I turned to the parking lot quickly.

I look around but the van is gone.

"Are you expecting someone?" She looks around the parking lot with me.

I shake my head and start walking.

"No. No. Sorry. I'm not feeling well. Are you walking with me?" I ask again.

"Yea, sure." She smiles and walks beside me.

"I'm coming as quickly as I can. I'm sorry I wasn't there." Grant apologizes.

I don't answer. I just want to hear his voice right now. I keep the phone to my ear.

"Is that Grant?" Bobbi points at the phone.

I nod.

"Tell him he owes me a study session. Your boy ditched me for lunch today." She doesn't look too happy with him.

My mouth falls. I thought they were having lunch together today.

"Where were you for lunch?" My anger with him comes back. He lied.

"I was out looking for you. You went MIA today." He reminds me. It seems he remembers being upset with me too.

"You ditched her because I wouldn't answer my phone?" I'm baffled.

Grant sighs. "I thought you were angry at me at first. So, I wanted to find you to clear some things up. After another hour of trying to call and texting you and finding out you weren't answering Simmons, I thought something happened." He explains.

"I turned my phone off. I was upset and didn't want to talk to anyone. I say things I regret when I speak out of anger." I can feel myself getting angry.

"Let me get this straight," Bobbi speaks. I don't think she appreciates being ignored. "You mean to tell me, this fool stood me up for our study session because you wouldn't answer the phone?" She's shaking her head. "Grant Ward you owe me two hours of studying tonight. No excuses." She says loudly toward the phone in my ear.

"No." He says in my ear. "I'm staying with you tonight." He tells me.

"You shouldn't have ditched her, Grant."

"Yea, you shouldn't have ditched me." She echoes.

"You're my priority. She isn't." He states matter of factly.

I don't respond. I wish I knew what to say. He says one thing but does another. The gnawing in my stomach continues on why he hasn't told Kara about us.

The way she looked at me this morning. There was more than hatred behind her eyes. There was jealousy. There was fear.

Grant has said they weren't dating. Did she like him and he wasn't aware? Or was he aware and just sparing her feelings.

"I don't care what he's saying. I need to study." Bobbi argues next to me.

We're finally in the hallway that led to my room.

"Thanks, Bobbi. I can take it from here. I'll make sure Grant calls you." I tell her.

"Are you in your room?" He asks.

"No. I'm down the hall."

I smile at Bobbi as she nods. "Are you sure you're ok? I can stay here till Ward arrives." She offers.

"Let her stay with you until I get there." He demands not suggests.

"Yes. I'm fine. Again, I'm sorry. I'll talk to you about it another time, yea?"

She smiles. "OK. Call me."

"Skye, keep her with you."

I ignore him. "I will. See you."

Bobbi turns and walks back out of the hall as I continue to my room.

"Dammit it, Skye." Grant curses.

"I hate when you tell me what to do. Where are you?" I ask as I take my key out to unlock my door.

"I'm parking." He says quietly.

"See. You're already pretty much here." I argue with him.

I open my door and drop my bag near the door. I quickly close the door and lock it behind me. My gut is telling me to call Tony and tell him about the van.

"Going against me just because you're angry is childish." I can hear his uneven breathing which tells me he's either jogging or running to my door. "Let me worry about you. I want to take care of you."

How can he be such an ass and so sweet all at the same time? I know he's worried about me. And after that freak-out, I can see why.

I couldn't hide anything from him anymore. I had to tell him. Maybe not everything but I had to tell him. He deserved to know. Especially because he kept grounding me.

"You here?" I ask.

"Coming up to your door." He tells me and I quickly unlock and open my door for him.

He steps in and takes me in his arms. I lean back, surprised and before I can say anything, his lips are on mine.

I kiss him back and my day disappears. There's only Grant. He holds me tight. The kiss is hungry as well as desperate. Our tongues explore our mouth. He nips at my tongue. I smile into the kiss and bite his lower lip as we pull back to catch our breath. At this moment, we don't care that we were angry or frustrated or whatever it is we were today.

"Are you ok?" He finally asks as he pulls away, just enough to search my eyes. "Never turn your phone off."

And there goes my mood. "Will you stop giving me orders." I step back.

He looks angry but keeps his mouth closed. He closes the door which is still open and locks it before turning back to me. "I don't—I'm not giving you orders." He's trying to control his tone.

I give him a look. "I'm sorry I worried everyone and turned off my phone. I forgot I did it." I try to calm myself and maybe if I back off, he can calm down too.

We stay quiet for a while. I sit on my bed and play with my phone. Still debating about telling Tony about the van in the parking lot.

"You frustrate me." Grant breaks the silence. He tugs at his hair. "I'm sorry. That's not entirely true. I frustrate myself. I don't like feeling like this."

I frown. "Feeling like what?"

He sighs. "Jealous. Protective. Worried. Obsessive. Controlling. Take your pick." His shoulders sag. He's avoiding my eyes.

My heart flutters. Well, damn. How can I stay mad at him after that?

"It goes both ways, you know?" I growl at him and he finally meets my eyes. "Just—rephrase when you talk to me or something."

"I know. I just—I don't—it's foreign to me. I'm sorry." He pulls my desk chair and sits in front of me holding my hands. "What happened today?"

I sigh. "I was upset and turned off my phone. I know myself well and I didn't want to text you in an angry state. So, I turned my phone off and put it away. As the day dragged on, I forgot to check it and got lost in my thoughts. After a long day, I was getting annoyed with you because I hadn't received anything from you so I checked my phone and realized I never turned it back on."

"Why were you upset to begin with? Were you really upset with me about my shirt comment?" He looks down as if just remembering what I was wearing and he looks pleased with how I'm wearing it. "I—you can wear whatever you want."

I tilt my head to the side. "Oh, gee. Thanks. I was so worried." I answer with sarcasm. He gives me a warning look. "I wasn't upset about that."

He looks at me from under his lashes. "You weren't?"

"No." I won't admit that I kind of liked him being possessive over what I wore. "I ran into someone who said something and I just got upset."

"You ran into someone and in turn got upset at me?" He asks confused. "Who?"

"Kara." I answer and I notice the second he stiffens up but he quickly recovers.

"What did she say?" He looks angry again.

"Nothing. It's just. You didn't tell her we were dating." I answer and I can hear how stupid I sound. I shake my head. "I jumped to conclusions and started questioning you, questioning us. She was unnecessarily rude. She's your friend, Grant and you haven't told her we are together. It just kinda threw me." I explain and watch him carefully. "Is there a reason why you haven't told her?"

I dread to know the answer but his eyes soften. "No. Look, I'm sorry. I haven't seen Kara or spoken to her." He rubs the back of his head. "I wanted to tell you but I didn't know how. It really shouldn't matter. I mean it doesn't matter." He rambles.

"Grant. What aren't you telling me?" I knew it. I knew there was something. "Were you dating Kara? Are you with Kara?"

"God, no." He answers appalled before sighing. "Look, Kara and I are friends…. but from time to time we were also friends with benefits."

My heart stops.

"It was nothing more than that. We hooked up from time to time but that was it. There was never anything serious. We weren't exclusive. We both knew it was like scratching an itch. We have never been together. We didn't date. We hang out and sometimes—"

"You fuck her." I finish for him, seething with jealousy.

Grant looks shocked but he also looks afraid. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It happened before you. I've been avoiding her because for one I don't want to see her and for another, I feel guilty seeing her and being with you. I felt guilty because I hadn't told you and it didn't sit right to know you weren't aware of what was going on. That's why I've been avoiding her, Skye. I promise you. We shouldn't matter to her just like she doesn't matter to me."

I'm angry and jealous and I don't have a right to be. I believe him when we tells me it was before me but he's an idiot if he thinks she doesn't care. No wonder she hates me. I was taking him from her.

"Skye, say something." He begs, searching my eyes.

That's just it though. What do I say? What can I say? "I don't know what you want me to say." I answer honestly.

"Are you mad? Are you indifferent? Tell me what you're feeling."

"Honestly."

He nods.

"I'm angry and I'm jealous but I don't have the right to be because it was before me. I don't like the fact that you've been sleeping with your friend. You might be done with it but she doesn't know that. I need for her to know Grant and it needs to come from you. I—" I hesitate with this next part, "I don't know how comfortable I'll be with your friendship with her knowing you've been fu—"

"I know. I know." He stops me from using the word again. "I'll tell her and I'll keep my distance."

I feel like a bitch. A part of me is happy he's willing to stay away from her but the other part of me doesn't want him to lose a friend, no matter who that might be.

"It doesn't feel right for you to stop being friends with her because of me." I grumble.

"Look, if the tables were turned and I found out you'd been sleeping with Trip," the muscle in his jaw twitches, "I'd feel the same way. I'd probably kick his ass just because I can but I would hate to see you guys hanging out and thinking what you were doing when I wasn't there. I don't want you feeling like that. I would never do anything with her but I can understand. Don't worry about it, Princess. We'll figure it out."

I nod because I don't want to add any fuel to the fire.

"Did she say anything else?" He asks defeated.

"Nothing worth repeating." I don't want to argue anymore. I'll talk to Kara myself.

"Hey." He pulls my face close to his. "Please don't ever to that again. I don't care if you yell at me or send me angry texts. I just need to know that you're ok. I've been worried all day. I looked for you all through lunch. I had Fitzsimmons out looking for you and I called Tony."

I shake my head. "That was a little extreme."

"Not after seeing how Fitzsimmons reacted to you being MIA." He searches my eyes again, begging for answers. "What happened on that call, Skye?"

Here we go. I take a deep breath.

"I had a—I had a flashback." I swallow the knot that's forming in my throat. "I—I was taken before switching to Operations." I look down. I don't want to see the pity in his eyes. "The people who took me thought I had information on my dad. When they couldn't get answers out of me, they um…they tortured me. I was held for five days before Tony found me." I wish I could tell him more but I still have trouble talking about it. "That's all I can tell you for now. I'm sorry for scaring you. I just have triggers."

He's quiet for a long time. I wait for him to talk first, as I keep my eyes down. Grant reaches for my chin and lifts my head to look at me. I wipe the tears that have fallen and look into his eyes. I don't see pity. I see anger and something else I can't quite put my finger on.

"I'm sorry, Princess." He pulls me to him and holds me tight. "I'm so sorry for being a jackass to you. I'm sorry you went through that. I wish I could have been there." His face is buried in the crook of my neck. He gives me a kiss on the there. "Please, please don't ever apologize for your flashbacks. It's bad isn't it, your PTSD?"

I nod. "I see a therapist regularly. I'm—I'm on medication." My voice is just above a whisper but I know he can hear my shame.

He pulls back and takes both his hands to either side of my face. "Don't do that, Princess. Something traumatic happened to you. You went through a lot. It's perfectly healthy and normal to talk to someone and take medication." He kisses me softly and I give him a weak nod.

I stare at him for a while. "You knew, didn't you?" I ask because it's obvious. "Who told you?"

He clears his throat. "I knew something had happened. I knew something was wrong outside of Hunter's. But I wanted to wait to hear it from you." He hugs me again and I hug him back.

"It's usually not as bad as today. I just have these triggers."

"You need to tell me about them." He tells me and sees my eyes get wide. "The triggers." He clarifies. "I can't stand the idea of accidentally doing something to put you back there. What happened at Hunter's or today for instance—it shouldn't happen. What happened today that gave you flashbacks? What triggered you?"

I gulp remembering the van. "There—there was a van in the parking lot." I confess.

"A what?" He stiffens but I ignore it.

"When I was feeling watched. When I was on the phone with you. I looked at my surroundings trying to figure out what was out of place and there was a van in the parking lot. It didn't look like it belonged. It was out of place." I explain. "I was taken in a van last time. That's what triggered my attack."

GRANT POV

I try to keep my composure as I hear her tell me about the van. "Was the van there when you left with Bobbi?" I ask trying to remember if I had noticed it when I parked.

She shakes her head. "No. It was gone." She swallows. She's holding something back.

"What is it?" I ask prompting her.

"Do you think I should tell Tony…or someone about it?" She looks me in the eye and I control my reaction. Before I can say anything she slowly smiles. "It's stupid, isn't it?" She shakes her head again. "I'm overreacting." She sighs and leans her head on my chest.

If she didn't call him, I sure as hell was. I had to make my first call to Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff too. Out of the three calls, I was not looking forward to speaking to Tony Stark the most. He's chewed my head off this morning about Skye.

"Sweetheart, if you feel the need to tell someone, you should. What is your gut telling you?" I ask her because I need her to rely on it more.

This whole day had stressed me out. Not knowing where Skye was or if she was safe had made me insane with worry. Knowing what I know now, which I know is still limited, I was frightened she'd be taken again.

I need her to trust her gut and keep herself safe when I'm not around.

"It's telling me that van shouldn't have been there." She finally answers but her voice is clear. She's not second-guessing herself.

"Make the call." I tell her.

She looks up and gives me a kiss. I lean into it and gather her in my arms. She straddles my lap and our kiss deepens. Before it goes too far, I stop it. We both have calls to make.

"Call Tony, Princess. If that van was bad news then the faster, he knows, the better." I tell her.

She nods. "I'm gonna need a minute. He might yell for going MIA." She stands and grabs her phone, before heading to the door.

"No." I tell her as I stand. "You stay in here and I'll go out into the hall. I don't want you disappearing on me again. Besides, Bobbi's gonna yell at me again because I'm canceling on her for tonight's study session."

I drop a kiss on her cheek as I go into the hall. If she was calling Stark, then I had to call Barton and Romanoff.

I pull out my brand new phone and dial Barton's number since it's the first on the list.

"Barton."

"Agent Barton. This is Grant Ward."

"You gonna tell me why you reported Skye MIA today?" Way to go. First time talking to Barton and I've already pissed him off.

"I might have jumped the gun a little. I got worried when she didn't answer her phone. I spoke to Jemma Simmons, a friend of Skye's—"

"I know Jemma. Continue." Barton interrupts.

"When she told me that she hadn't heard from Skye either, I worried. Skye is glued to her phone so when she didn't answer, I panicked."

"And where were you for lunch? You're on assignment, Ward. Your personal plans take a back seat to this. You are to be at her side in her free time. Why else would you be given this assignment?" He barks at me.

I pinch my nose to control my own anger. "This is more than an assignment for me." I try to keep my voice low because Skye is on the other side of the door. "There was a misunderstanding but it won't happen again. I'm with Skye now and will be for the remainder of the day. I was calling about something she saw." I have to stay focused before I saw something out of line.

"I'm listening." He sounds calmer too.

"On her way to her room she saw a van in the parking lot. I don't think she got a good look at it. It triggered her flashbacks but she said it looked out of place. I was on the phone with her when it happened and quickly got my friend Bobbi over to her because I was with Fitzsimmons. By the time Bobbi got to her, the van was gone."

Barton is quiet for a moment. "I'll get Tony on it."

"No need. Skye is calling him now. You might just have to wait for him to give you something on it." I tell him.

"I'll talk to Nat and we'll call him. Ward, from now on, you stay with her, you hear me? If she's not in class, you're on her six. Do I make myself clear?" His voice is threatening.

"Yes, sir. It won't happen again." I promise.

"Report back with anything else you think we should know." Before I can answer him, the line goes dead. I put the phone away and pull my own out.

I text Bobbi that I can't meet her and then call Fitz.

"Hey, Ward. How's Skye?" He answers, his voice worried.

"She's better. She had an attack. Her flashes were triggered. That's why I'm calling. I don't think we'll be able to hang out as planned."

"Don't worry. I understand. I'm glad you were able to get to her." I can tell he cares a lot about her.

"She seems a little shaky. If you and Simmons don't mind, I think it'd be a good idea for you guys to come over. And just bring a little normal into her day."

"Yea. Yea." He agrees immediately a little excited. "I'll talk to Jemma. We'll bring some food over. Jemma makes these sandwiches…" his voice trails off.

"Can you please tell her not to lecture Skye when you guys get here? I don't know Simmons too well but something tells me that she'll give Skye an earful and I don't think she needs that today."

"I'll tell her." He chuckles.

"See you here in a few." I tell him as I hang up and just then, the door opens to Skye's room.

"Sorry. That took a little longer than I would have liked."

I smile. "No biggie." I go back into her room.

"Was Bobbi mad?" She asks as she closes the door behind me.

I throw myself on her bed and she sits next to me. I shrug. "Bobbi is always mad at me."

Skye giggles and presses a kiss to my forehead.

"I called Fitz to come over with Simmons. I hope that's ok." I look for her reaction and all she does is nod and smile.

"Thanks."


	10. Chapter 10

GRANT POV

I wake up to my alarm blaring. I made it back to my room late last night after I made sure Skye was knocked out.

I'd received a late message from Barton saying Romanoff would be watching Skye tonight. I wasn't going to get caught spending the night with Skye, especially with Romanoff watching.

I force myself up and start getting ready. I'd have to talk to Kara quickly today as well as Bobbie and I'd have to do it in between watching Skye. I couldn't do another day like yesterday. Not knowing where Skye was—it was unbearable. I'd felt panicked. At first, I'd been annoyed and then a little worried. It wasn't until knowing that Simmons' could reach her that I'd panicked. I push the thought away.

I have a lot to do and have to get it done before meeting Skye for lunch.

"We need to talk." Bobbi scared the shit out of me as I walk out of my room. She's standing against the wall in the hallway. She'd been waiting for me.

"Shit, Bobbi. What are you doing here so early?" I shake my head and walk past her.

She steps up next to me and we walk together. "What the hell is going on, Ward? You text me to run to Skye yesterday, telling me not to say anything to her but it's a life and death situation. You also ditched me TWICE." Her voice is hard.

I look at her sideways and continue walking. We are pretty much alone. The people walking are too far away to hear anything.

"Look, I can't tell you much. What I can tell you is that I may need you to help me watch her from time to time but you can't say anything to anyone." Besides Trip, Bobbi is the only one of the few that I trust completely. I'm not telling Trip because he is too close to Skye, which leaves me with Bobbi.

"What? Why?" She asks confused and looks a little angry. "Ward, talk to me. Why do you want me to watch your girlfriend?"

Again, I look around. "I found out someone is watching her. She's in danger, Bobbi. You remember that security detail we saw on her file?"

Bobbi frowns and nods. "Yea."

"I met Director Fury. I was told that someone has tried taking her and he doesn't want her knowing. He doesn't know who's looking for her but he asked for my help to keep an eye on her because I started dating her." I wasn't going to tell Bobbi the full truth—she'd kill me.

The only reason Skye and I were together to start with was because of this assignment. My life had completely changed since getting it. The whole situation was a mess. It was a mess of lies and if I told Bobbi how stupid I'd been, she'd let me have it.

She wouldn't agree with anything I've done since last Monday and I needed a friend right now.

I watch as she digests the information. "Shit. Why don't they just tell her?"

I shrug. "I'm sure they have their reasons. I can't tell you much but she was mad at me yesterday. When you saw her—"

Bobbi looks torn. "She was bad, Ward. I have never seen someone look so lost and completely frightened. She has PTSD, doesn't she?"

I nod. "It's not my place to answer any questions but yes, she does. She was triggered, Bobbi. Someone was waiting for her in the parking lot. She could sense it." My stomach turns. I'd received a message from Barton last night. "There was a glitch in the security feed in the parking lot yesterday and then to all the cameras in a ten-mile radius from here for about fifteen minutes."

Bobbi's eyes go wide. "Shit. Well, I can see why you ditched me." She gave me a sympathetic look. "Ok. Let me know when I can help. I won't push you for any information. Who else is watching her?"

I roll my eyes. Who isn't? "Let's just say I have numbers on my phone of some pretty high-ranking SHIELD Agents."

Her eyes get wider and then, she smiles. "Like who?"

I shake my head. "Forget I said anything."

She gives me a look because she knows I won't budge and stays quiet as we talk. Finally, she speaks, "So, what did you do to piss Skye off?"

I wince. I know she's not going to like what I have to say.

"What?" She squints at me. "What did you do?"

I look forward as I walk and debate whether I should say. "Skye ran into Kara," is all I say.

Bobbi grabs my arm and stops me. When I meet her eyes, I can feel her anger. She stares at me, waiting to finish.

"I don't know exactly what was said. Skye was upset that I hadn't told Kara that we were dating."

Bobbi curses under her breath. "I told you to talk to her. What the hell is wrong with you, Ward?"

This is what I don't want to listen to. I shouldn't have to talk to Kara. "Look, I'm going to talk to her today."

"She deserved to know. She deserved for you to tell her." Bobbi looks disappointed at me and that alone pisses me off.

"I don't know what you think is going on between me and Kara but I assure you that it shouldn't matter that I'm seeing Skye. Not that it's any of your business but Kara is nothing to me. She's been a friend and for that, then yes, I should have told her. But the fact that I was sleeping with her is nobody's business." Why am I even explaining myself?

"I told you not to sleep with her in the first place, Ward. Friends with benefits NEVER works." She almost yelling.

"Watch your tone and volume, Bobbi." I threaten.

She clenches her jaw. "Someone always gets hurt." Her voice is lower. "You might not have caught any feelings but she did."

I shake my head. "You don't know what you're talking about, Bobbi. Kara and I had an agreement. Let it go. I'm talking to her today. I need to find out what the fuck she said to Skye."

I start to walk away but Bobbi grabs my arm again. "Don't—don't be an ass. Please try to talk to her and be nice."

I roll my eyes. "I need to know what she said to Skye. Leave it alone, Bobbie."

She lets me go reluctantly and we continue walking. Once we reach the lecture hall, we go our separate ways. She gives me one last menacing look before she disappears down the hall.

I enter class and search for Kara. She'd missed last week and this was the only class we shared. I notice her toward the back of the room and make my way to her.

She notices me as I approach and doesn't say a word. I look for a reaction but I get none. As I sit, class starts and I don't have a chance to talk to her.

Class is slow. My phone dings and I look at it.

**Morning. I woke up and surprisingly didn't have a note on my forehead. Thanks for that. See you at lunch, Ken.

I smile at Skye's use of the name Ken. We really had to get a new name for me. It had started it as a joke but I think she's liking it too much.

I'd stuck my note on her end table, telling her I was going back to my room for the night and I'd see her for lunch today.

**Stop calling me Ken.

** but I like it

**No.

**Fine. I'll come up with something.

**In class. Stop distracting me, Princess.

She doesn't respond which only makes me smile for some unknown reason. I put the phone away and count the minutes until class is over.

As soon as we are excused, I turn to Kara. "Hey, we need to talk."

She gives me a look before nodding. We exit the room together and go out to find a bench.

"What's up?" She asks but she's avoiding eye contact which lets me know she feels guilty or she's upset.

"Look, I started seeing Skye but I guess you already heard about it." I start and she nods. "So, my question to you is, what did you tell Skye yesterday?"

She finally turns to me. "I didn't tell her anything," she answers pissed off.

"Well, she was upset so you had to have told her something." I search her eyes but Kara has always been good about hiding her emotions when she wants to.

"I only asked her to confirm the rumors." Kara answers, gets up, and starts walking away.

"And that's it?" I ask, following her.

"Why? Did she say I said something else?"

"She wouldn't tell me what the conversation was about which is why I'm asking you?" I'm getting upset at the way she's answering.

"I already told you." She snaps. "I should have asked her questions now that I think about it though." She stops walking and looks me in the eyes and I can see anger. "When did you start seeing her, Grant? Because I was gone three days last week and I saw you both on Monday and on Friday."

Fuck her. "Drop it, Kara. When Skye and I got together has nothing to do with you. I should have called you this past weekend to let you know but I don't think it mattered."

She squints her eyes at me and gives me a fake laugh. "Sure. It's got nothing to do with me but it matters to Skye. Tell me, does Skye know we saw each other last week?"

My heart stops beating and my blood runs cold. Was she threatening me? My jaw starts hurting and I realize I have it clenched tightly. I try to ease it and take a deep breath. "Stay the hell away from Skye from now on, Kara. I mean it. We," I motion between us, "had an arrangement. We both knew what it entailed. Don't give it another thought. I have to go meet Skye. It was nice talking to you."

"We might have an arrangement, Grant but does Skye know about it? Does she know where you were last week?" She calls after me and I continue walking because I don't know what I would do if I turned back to Kara.

I stalk toward Skye's next class. It's in the same building as mine. I check my watch trying to push down all thoughts of Kara out of my mind. Skye should be coming out of class in the next five minutes.

I jog and arrive outside of her class just as she emerges.

A smile appears on her face when she sees me.

"Morning." She approaches me.

My body relaxes as soon she steps into my arms. "Morning, Princess. How was class?"

I give her a quick kiss on the lips and we turn to walk. My arm is around her shoulders and hers curls around my waist.

She shrugs. "It was International Relations," is all she says.

The conversation with Kara creeps back up on me. She's right. I only told Skye half-truths but we agreed on Saturday that we were starting fresh. We agreed that from that day on we were together. I had nothing wrong, I had been loyal and as honest as I could be to her. Apart from the damn security detail, I'd been honest.

I swallow the lump that forms in my throat. I'm dancing around a gray area because I know that if Skye found out about last week, she'll probably want nothing to do with me.

"Hey, you ok?" She tugs at my hand.

I focus back on her. "Yea, sorry. Just thinking about lunch already. I didn't have breakfast."

"Well, Fitzsimmons asked if we wanted to meet them for lunch." She smiles hopeful.

I nod. "Yea. Let me know where they want to meet."

We stop outside of her next class and she leans up to give me a quick kiss. I hold her hips. She meant to give me a peck on the lips but I deepen it.

After a minute, she pulls back. "Watch yourself, Grant Ward. We're in public."

I look around and there are some who are looking at us. I shrug. "I little PDA never hurt anybody."

She laughs. Damn, she's beautiful.

"I'll meet you by the wall of valor for lunch." She tells me as she gently pushes my shoulder, "Now, get to class."

I kiss her on her temple before stepping back and getting to my next class.

SKYE POV

We meet Fitzsimmons for lunch in the Science and Technology campus at a little sandwich shop in the cafeteria.

Grant and I already have our food and have a table for us to eat at. We're waiting for Fitzsimmons who got out of class late. They're in line to ordering their food now.

"What time did you want to head out today?" Grant asks as he leans back in his chair, taking a drink from his bottle.

I purse my lips. "I don't know. Maybe sevenish." I say thinking that I still have to grab my laundry to go wash at my parent's house. I have two loads to do. I could do them here but it's easier doing them there. "I just need to grab my things after the gym."

I pick at my sandwich and look to see if I see Fitzsimmons coming.

"Come on. The gym, Skye?" Grant sounds surprised.

I turn back to him. "What? I have kickboxing today and Muay Thai"

"You can miss one day." He shakes his head like he can't believe the words that are coming out of my mouth.

"I missed yesterday, Grant." I remind him. My stupid attack had messed up my day. I hadn't gone to the gym or ran my five miles.

"Princess, you'll be fine."

"Must I remind you that I won't be doing anything tomorrow or Friday either." I lift an eyebrow. I always ate too much around the holidays. I couldn't stop my routine. It would be too easy to get back to my normal laziness.

He leans forward, taking my hand in his. "What if I promised you a different kind of work out in place of the kickboxing?" He's talking in my ear and goosebumps run up my arms. I shiver at the feel of his breath on my neck.

I feel my temperature rising. I grab ahold of his shirt and with my other hand pull him closer to me. He kisses my neck and I swear if he would to request something of me right now, I'd agree to anything.

He nuzzles his nose into my hair and kisses my hairline, making me moan. I can feel his smile on me. He knows he's convinced me. Damn him.

"I don't want you dumping me the moment I start gaining weight." I pout as I wrap my arms around him, to hold him close.

He chuckles into my neck before planting another kiss there.

"I'm serious, Grant. You've seen how much I eat. Now, imagine all those calories tomorrow for thanksgiving." And then I remember the deserts. "And all those pies!"

He pulls back to lean his forehead on mine. "Where will the calories go?" He asks. His hands run up my thighs, "here," he moves his hands higher to my hips, "here," and he moves them up further, moving them toward my breasts.

I stop his hands just over my stomach. "We're in public." I remind him.

A grin covers his handsome face and he kisses my lips quickly. "Fine. But you know where they were going."

I shake my head with a smile. Would he really have groped me in public?

The smile on his face tells me he would have. "So…" he lifts an eyebrow, "are we going to the gym or are we staying in before heading out?"

I squint my eyes at him. "What do you think?"

He chuckles. "I knew I could convince you." One of his hands is on my hips while the other, he brings to cup the side of my face. He moves my hair back a little and brings me forward, where his lips meet mine.

This isn't a peck. This is a hungry kiss. It's passionate and slow. His tongue dances with mine and I can feel the hunger between us grow stronger.

Someone loudly clears their throat and we pull apart to see Fitzsimmons standing by the table, getting ready to sit down. I can feel the blush on my cheeks.

Simmons looks amused while Fitz is clearly looking everywhere else but at us as he sits across from the table. I'm surprised to see Lincoln pulling out a chair besides Fitz.

I can feel the atmosphere change in the room. Grant is unusually still next to me. We both sit back and I smile at my friends.

"Lincoln." Grant's voice is full of disdain. "I didn't know you were joining us."

Shit. I look between Fitzsimmons, to Lincoln and then to Grant. I clear my throat and hold Grant's hand under the table. I squeeze it when he doesn't turn to me.

He has to be cordial. Lincoln is Fitzsimmons' friends. We can't be rude.

I haven't had a chance to talk to Simmons, so she has no idea that Grant basically hates Lincoln. If she knew I'm sure he wouldn't be standing here now.

"I ran into Fitzsimmons in line and they invited me to sit with you guys." Lincoln offers a small smile. "I hope that's ok."

I try a smile myself. "It's nice seeing you again, Lincoln. Of course, it's ok." I mean, what was I going to say? No, you can't sit here because I'm pretty sure my boyfriend wants to kill you.

Grant doesn't say a word and I think that's for the best. He instead, put his arm around my shoulders and keeps it there. Letting go of the hand I was squeezing and we all start eating.

Fitzsimmons start a conversation and neither pick up on the awkwardness around the table. Lincoln joins in and I follow. I really don't want to start any trouble.

Throughout lunch, Grant mostly stays quiet, only nodding or answering if he's directed a question. I don't know how to ease him, so I continue with the conversation.

Lunch goes by a little too slowly to my liking. As it's nearing the end, Simmons looks to Lincoln and asks what he's doing for Thanksgiving.

"I'm not sure yet. I might just stay on campus."

Simmons gives him a sad look. "How horrible. Do you not have anywhere to go?"

"I don't really talk to my family." He shrugs and shakes his head. "Don't worry about me, Simmons. It's ok. Really." He assures her. "What are you guys doing?"

"Well, we don't celebrate your Thanksgiving." She smiles sadly at him. "So, we usually spend it with Skye and her family." She turns to me with bright eyes, like she's getting an idea. "Actually, there are times where they'll get surprise visitors. Her parent's house is usually open to anyone."

Oh no. Simmons, what the hell are you doing?

Grant stiffens next to me. He and I both know where this is going. I don't have to look at him to know that he's clenching his jaw. His hand is on my thigh and he squeezes. I have to shut this down.

"Mostly true but not in recent years." I give a tight smile. "Mom's trying to make it more intimate this year. Grant here is coming home and meeting my grandparents for the first time." I turn to Grant with a smile on my face and kiss his clenched jaw. As soon as my lips touch his skin, his jaw relaxes which makes my smile genuine. "They're going to love you." I direct this to Grant.

He turns to me and his eyes soften when they meet mine. Slowly a smile appears on his face. He gives me a peck on the lips.

"Thanks, Princess." He says to me before turning to the others, "And with that, I say we finish lunch. We still have classes to get to and exams before we're officially out for Thanksgiving break." Grant stands and reaches for my tray.

He throws out the contents in the trash can and puts the tray on the assigned spot next to the trash, before turning back to me and reaching for my hand. "Ready, Princess?"

I nod. "See you guys tomorrow morning." I tell Fitzsimmons and then turn to Lincoln, "I hope you enjoy your break."

With that, Grant waves and pulls me out of the cafeteria. I can feel him relaxing as the distance between us and Lincoln grows.

"I can't stand that guy." He says as we reach the far end of Campus.

"He's friends with Fitzsimmons." I remind him. "He wasn't so bad today."

Grant turns to me with an angry glare. Yikes. "Skye, the guy wants in your pants."

"Oh, stop. Look, he was a little forward the other day but he apologized and he was nice today. He was trying to involve you in the conversation." I shake my head.

"Why are you defending him?" Grant is not going to let up I see.

I sigh. "I'm not defending him. I understand you don't like him and I get why but we don't have to deal with him often. He is friends with Fitzsimmons and that means seeing him from time to time." I tug at his hand. "Can we please not do this? I don't want to fight. I want us to have a good day. Please. Please." I beg.

He's looking away from me but he finally turns to me. I give him puppy eyes and he slowly smiles at me. "I don't want to fight either. Not about him."

I smile and kiss him. "Thank you."

"Come on, let's get to class." He looks amused as we walk.

He walks me to class again and he promises to meet me outside of my last class. I don't know when he learned my schedule and I don't know if I like it or not.

I'm anticipating going back to my room. My insides warm just thinking about sex with Grant. We haven't had sex since Sunday and I don't know how it hasn't been a priority. He makes me so horny. He's so damn sexy.

I watch the clock, counting the minutes in my last class of the day. I'm not listening to a word being said—surprise, surprise and I'm anxiously tapping the end of my pen on the table.

The guy sitting next to me keeps giving me annoyed looks but I don't care. I just want to be done with these classes. I get Grant for four straight days. No classes. No place to be.

Sure, we'll be at my parent's house tomorrow but I'm making sure to leave bright and early on Friday. I want as much alone time with him as I can.

The class isn't even done but I'm already packing my things in my bag. The moment we're excused, I'm jumping out of my chair and heading toward the exit.

I see Grant waiting for me outside of class and I get chills. My stomach tightens and I bite my lower lip. He grins as he pulls me forward, one hand snaking around the back of my neck and into my hair.

He gives me a slow kiss that I moan into. When he pulls back, he bites my lower lip. "Before you, I hated PDA."

I match his smile. "You and me both."

"What? No PDA with Miles?" He asks, still holding me close.

"Ugh. No." I wince disgusted at the mention of my ex. "I see couples and think 'that's cute and disgusting.'" I mostly thought it was disgusting because I was jealous if I'm being honest. I no longer feel that jealousy.

"Good to know." He grins and steps back from me, pulling me behind him. "Let's get going. I need to make sure you burn off those calories."

I laugh and follow closely.

GRANT POV

We can't get to her room fast enough. Just knowing I'm going to have her again is making me hard. I curse myself for letting it go this long without holding her and having her scream my name.

I step back to let her unlock her door. As soon as it's open, I pick her up to push us both into the room. I slam the door closed behind us and pin her to the wall.

I crush my mouth onto hers our tongues battle for dominance. Oh no, my sweet Princess, your body belongs to me.

I take charge of the kiss and hold her up by her ass. She wraps her gorgeous legs around me. I lean back long enough to yank her top over her head. I kiss her again as she tugs at my Henley. We separate again to yank off my shirt.

I groan in frustrations as I work on my pants.

"Pants off. Panties too." I grunt as I shove my pants down and pull out the condom that I had ready in my pocket.

I watch her as she yanks down her pants and panties off at the same time. Fuck. I'm so hard for her. Her hands go behind her back to undo her bra.

As soon as we're naked, I wrap my dick and pick her back up against the door. I'm inside her in one quick stroke and she wraps her legs around me once more.

"Fuck." She's so wet. "You're so ready for me, Princess." I give her no time to adjust to me as I thrust into her fast.

"Mmhm." She moans her response while her hands dig into my hair. She tugs.

I growl as I take her mouth. We struggle for dominance once again. I thrust into her deeply, before pulling all the way out.

She whines at the loss and I push back into her. I repeat the action and she groans. I bite her bottom lip and squeeze her ass.

She contracts around me, holding me like a vice. "Fuck." I moan. Shit. "Do that again. Do it." I demand.

She laughs between moans and squeezes around me again. Fuck. She feels so good on my dick. I dig into her ass as she does it once again.

I start to drill her, thrusting as hard as I can.

"Ah! Yes." She yelps and throws her face onto my shoulder. She bits down on the crook of my neck. "I'm gonna—"

"Not yet. Not yet." I like watching her lose control but I'm not ready for her to cum and her body automatically listens to me. One of my hands roams her body as the other holds her by the ass. I have her pinned against the wall with my body. I can't get enough of her skin. I grip one of her breasts and bring a nipple into my mouth.

I bite the nipple and tug. Skye's hands tug at my hair and she hisses and then moans. I look at her and her eyes are black with lust. She lets out a yelp as I push into her hard. I want to watch her lose control.

She throws her head back against the wall and whines. "Please. Please." She begs.

Having her beg is music to my ears. "Grip." I command because I want to feel the tightness once more before she loses it. She grips me. "Now. Now. Do it. Do it. Do it." I tell her and I watch her explode around me. She spasms and she feels incredible. I love watching her orgasm. I'm so close to my own release but I control myself. I'm not done with her yet.

Skye was made for me. Her body molds to mine perfectly. The softness of her skin begs for my kisses. The smell of her is delicious. Her body listens to mine as if I commanded it.

I keep thrusting until she comes down from her high. I lift her off me and set her on her feet. I turn her and press her against her wall. She sticks her ass in the air and I curse as I enter her from behind.

I grunt as I take her with the same speed as before and she's screaming. "Shit." I'm going to come soon. I place my hands on her shoulders, as I bring her closer to me. She pushes back against the wall and grinds on me.

My hands roam her body. I use one hand on her hip to prop her up for a better angle and the other hand, I use to push against her back. Before I explode, I want to feel her cum just one more time.

I find the energy to thrust deeper into her and she's full-on yelling now.

"Yes!" She moans out in pleasure. "Right there. I'm so close. Keep going." She begs. "Graaaant!"

Fuck. There's nothing hotter than her begging to cum or her screaming my name in ecstasy. I can feel my own tightness making its way down my spine. I'm almost there. "Now. Cum now." I command and I marvel as her body listens. "Yesyesyesyesyes." I grunt as I cum into the condom and for a second, I imagine it hitting her walls. I imagine my cum coating her insides. The image of that alone makes me last longer. I continue to thrust in her until I'm spent and she's done spasming.

I hold onto her, to keep her upright. Her legs are still shaking.

"Oh my God." She says breathlessly. "Why haven't we been doing that since Sunday?" She looks at me over her shoulder with a smile. Her face is coated with sweat.

I chuckle, as I pull out of her. She groans at the loss, making me chuckle again. I tie off the condom and toss it in the trash can. I turn back to her and she's still leaning against the wall.

I pick her up and move us to her bed.

"Seriously, we need to do this more often." She snuggles up to me and I wrap her in my arms.

"We might have to invest in soundproof walls." I grin, teasing her.

She bites my chest. "We should go for round two. Just give me a couple of minutes to catch my breath."

We end up going another two rounds before we take a shower. We decide on taking my jeep and I help Skye bring down her laundry bag. We pick up my overnight bag and head off to her parents.

I'm nervous the whole drive. I'm been pushing this trip out of my mind because I don't know how I'm going to do this.

Skye and I are together but I can't let her parents know it's real. But we have to act like we are real in case someone is watching. I don't know if her grandparents are going to like me or if they'll hate me like Coulson and May.

I have to walk a fine line with Skye in front of Coulson and May. It's stressing me out. I hide it well as Skye rambles on about her grandparents and how she's going to sneak me into her room at night.

"I am not coming into your room." I tell her.

"Fine. I'll just come into yours."

"Are you crazy? You're not coming in my room either."

"Why not?!" She looks offended.

"One, it's your parent's house. I don't want to die. Two, you can't keep quiet. The whole house will hear you."

"We don't have to do anything." She tells me. "I like sleeping with you."

I smile. No matter how stressed I am, I'm grateful to be going with Skye for Thanksgiving. I love watching her laugh and joke around. Seeing her happy and excited pushes my stress back and brings a damn smile to my face. Being around her always makes me feel good.

About ten minutes from her parent's house, my phone rings. It's Izzy, so I answer and the call connects to the jeep's Bluetooth.

"Hi, Izzy." I greet.

"Grant, how's lover girl?" Izzy asks.

Skye smiles and I roll my eyes. "Skye's fine. She's listening as you're on speaker."

"Oh." Izzy sounds like she's smiling. "Hi, Skye dear. How are you, sweetheart?"

"Hi, Izzy. I'm good. How are you?" Skye answers politely.

"Dreading Thanksgiving." Izzy answers. Her tone now annoyed. "I'm out of the country and so is Vicky."

Being a SHIELD Agent came with a lot of travel but Izzy and Vic always made it work. It was missing Holidays that always frustrated Izzy the most. She made it a point to get us together for them as often as possible.

"Sorry about that. I really wish you guys were here. It would have been awesome to have you guys over." Skye leaned forward to say and I looked at her in awe.

I gave her a smile.

"It's ok, sweetheart. We'll be in town for Christmas and New Year's. I know how big Christmas is for Coulson, so I insist you spend New Year's with us."

"Really?" Skye asks excitedly.

"Of course." Izzy laughs. "I can't wait to see you two together. You know, we've never seen Grant with anyone. And he sounds so smitten, the way he goes on and on—"

"Ok. Ok." I interrupt before she says too much. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Iz."

I focus on the road, not wanting to see Skye's reaction to Izzy's words.

"Fine. Have a good time. Don't forget to call Vicky tomorrow."

"She's on a mission. Can she answer calls?" I ask.

"She will for you. Just let her know you're thinking about her Bud." Izzy's voice softens.

I roll my eyes. As if I could ever do that. "Of course, Iz. I just didn't know if she'd be available."

"She's always available for us, bud. You know that."

I smile. "I know." Vic was the first person I loved after my brother Thomas. Izzy was a close second but I still found it hard telling them the words. They never came easy.

"Good luck meeting the family. And don't you go trying to sneak into her room at night. You—"

"Bye, Iz." I interrupt again before I hang up. I'd call her back tonight when I could talk to her in private.

Skye found the whole thing amusing.

When we pull up to her parent's house, they're waiting for us outside.

"How do they do that?" I ask.

"They have security cameras." She answers shaking her head like it's obvious.

I look up and sure enough, I spot a number of them. Fuck. I hope they don't have any inside the house. I don't trust Skye to stay in her room tonight.

I climb out, grab my overnight bag and Skye's laundry bag as she greets her parents.

"Grant, lovely to see you again." May greets me.

I smile and nod a hello.

Coulson has a smile on his face but it doesn't reach his eyes. He'll be watching me closely for the next forty-eight hours.

Skye turns to me and smiles. "Come on. Let's get my laundry into the washroom and then I can show you which room will be yours."

Coulson keeps the smile on his face but I can see him shooting daggers at me.

My smile is tight as I follow Skye into the house.


	11. Chapter 11

SKYE POV

I roll onto my back. I really need to stop having Grant sleep in my bed because when I don't see him, I can't sleep. I tossed and turned all night.

After knowing about the security cameras outside, he was convinced my parents had them inside the house too and would not let me sneak in his room.

I realize I'm being a big baby but I'm frustrated. After the crazy good sex yesterday, I wanted to cuddle but he's being so weird around my parents.

Fitzsimmons would be here within the next hour and maybe with them around, I could sneak some alone time with Grant.

My phone buzzes and I reach for it with a groan. I'm so tired. My day brightens when I see it's a text from Grant.

**Good morning, Princess.

**You sound too happy.

**I woke up in a good mood. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?

**I would have if I ever fell asleep.

**You didn't sleep?

I groan.

**No and it's your fault. I wanted to cuddle and you wouldn't let me sleep with you.

**You parents would have killed me. One more night and then you can have me for the rest of the week.

I smile and squeal.

**Promise?

**Yes, Princess.

**Get up. Meet me in the kitchen. We can make breakfast together.

**I still need to shower.

I roll my eyes.

**We'll cook in PJ's and shower after breakfast. Come on. You owe me for ditching me last night.

I wait for a response as I jump out of bed. I put my hair up in a messy bun, put on a bra and brush my teeth. As I come out of the restroom in my room, there's a knock on my door.

I open it to find Grant. I lean up and kiss him while wrapping my arms around his neck. He immediately pulls me to him by the hips.

I moan into the kiss and he slowly pulls away.

"Ok. Now it's a good morning." I smile and peck him once more.

"I thought it'd walk you to the kitchen as an added bonus for last night." He jokes and I grin.

We walk hand in hand to the kitchen. It's still early. It's only a little after seven. I know we're alone for now. This is about the time my dad is out for a run and my mom is doing her meditation outside in the back yard.

"What are we making, Princess?" He asks once we get to the kitchen.

"Let's stick to something easy. Eggs, sausage and pancakes." I tell him and we get started.

We bring out everything we need first and start organizing. Fitzsimmons will be here soon. Fitz and my dad can each eat for two, so I make sure to make extra of everything.

Grant takes on the eggs and sausage, as I make the pancakes. I make some plain, some with blueberries and some with chocolate chips. Everyone likes different kinds of pancakes so why not please them all.

"Hello? Is anyone awake? We're here?" Jemma's voice echoes down the hall as we finish setting the table.

"We're in here." Grant and I both call out together.

Fitzsimmons come around the corner, into the kitchen.

"Awe. How adorable. They're speaking as one, Fitz." Jemma scrunches her nose and looks at Fitz.

"Yea. Yea." I say.

"Pull up a seat, guys. Food's ready." Grant gestures to the table.

"Something smells good, honey." My mom walks in, coming from the back yard.

"Thanks. Go clean up so we can eat." I tell her.

"Is your dad back yet?"

I shake my head. "He should be done soon. He was gone when we started cooking."

She nods and heads down the hall.

Dad walks in a couple of minutes later. He's covered in sweat.

"Morning, everyone." He greets.

"Dad, go shower, please. Breakfast is ready and mom will be down in a second." I tell him as he comes toward me.

"Thanks, honey." He kisses my head before turning but I see the look he shoots Grant.

What the hell was that? I look between my dad and Grant. My dad walks away and Grant turns away like he didn't see that look my dad gave him.

I squint between them. "Hmm." What's going on there?

Breakfast goes by smoothly. Everyone is friendly and I smile at watching Fitz with Grant. They're laughing over God knows what and I'm loving every second of it.

Jemma catches my eyes from across the table and she's smiling like a fool. It seems like she also likes watching the guys get along.

My dad is trying to hide a frown as he eats and I keep catching my mom throw him warning looks. Besides that, they're acting like their normal selves.

As soon as we're done with breakfast, the front door bursts open.

"Melinda!" I hear laolao, my grandmother calling and I squeak in excitement.

I run toward the hall and before I reach it, my grandparents come into the room.

"Skye, darling." My grandmother hugs me before kissing me on the cheek. "Ready to cook?"

"Ready." I nod, kissing her cheek.

My lao ye, grandfather reaches for me. "Hello, darling." He takes me in his arms and holds me tight.

I hate not seeing my grandparents as often as I'd like. "Hi."

"Jemma, Leo, how are you?" My grandmother asks.

"Good." Fitzsimmons answer and come hug my grandparents.

I can feel my butterflies start in my stomach and my cheeks warm. I can't lie. I'm nervous. I really want them to like Grant. "Grant," I look to him and he smiles, standing next to me, "I'd like you to meet my grandparents, William and Lian."

Grant shakes both their hands as they eye him from head to toe. "Nice to meet you. Grant Ward." He introduces himself, looking gorgeous but I can tell he's nervous.

To my relief, both of them shake his hand with smiles on their faces.

"You must be special for this one," my grandmother points to me, "for our Skye to bring you around the family. She reluctantly brought the last one around because we demanded to meet him." She shakes her head. "What a waste that guy was."

I can't help but laugh at her last comment. "Laolao." I try to scold.

"She's not wrong." My grandfather stands back. "How long have you been seeing my granddaughter?" He asks Grant.

I roll my eyes. Here comes the interrogation. "We've only been seeing each other for a week." I answer, waiting for a million questions to follow.

"A week and you're already meeting the family. Hmm." My grandpa looks between us. "Have you slept with her yet?"

"Grandpa!"

"Dad!"

My mom and I say at the same time. I try to force the blush away from my cheeks but I can feel the heat on my face.

"They're moving too fast. She already has him coming to dinner." My grandfather defends himself.

Grant is silent but he looks uncomfortable.

"Grant had no plans for Thanksgiving and I suggest Skye invite him for dinner." My mom clarifies. She looks upset. She only ever looks flustered when dealing with my grandparents.

"Are they sleeping in the same room?" I roll my eyes at my grandfather's question.

"No!" My mom, my dad, Grant and I answer together.

"They're old enough to keep that information to themselves. They're not teenagers." My grandmother shakes her head and makes her way to the fridge.

"Nobody is sleeping with anyone." My dad looks like he's lost his patience.

"Well, maybe not tonight." My grandfather goes to sit on a stool around the kitchen island.

"Oh, come on. Look at him, Melinda. You think Skye is going to pass that up?" My grandmother gestures to Grant and I palm my face.

"Ok." Jemma claps her hands together, trying to break the tension. Her eyes are wide and she looks just as uncomfortable as I feel. "Lian, what will Skye and I be making today?"

I take a look around the room and see my grandmother is amused. My grandfather is eying Grant, similar to the way my mom is. Fitzsimmons look uncomfortable, my dad looks pissed and Grant looks like he wants to be anywhere but here.

"Yes, please tell us what we're in charge of today and we'll get out of your hair and start in the pool house." I plaster a tight smile on my face.

This was tradition. We always made too much food in case random people showed up. Over the years it had stopped happening but we still made the same amount. It only meant we all took leftovers with us now.

We needed two kitchens for all the food, so Fitzsimmons and I always got sent to the pool house to help cook. Fitz normally sat in front of the TV and had snacks while Jemma and I did all the cooking.

"Melinda and I will take care of the turkey, the stuffing, the green bean casserole, and the sweet potatoes. You girls make the ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce and the pumpkin pie." She's so small but full of authority.

Jemma and I nod.

"Fitz, be a dear and take Grant to get the grocery bags from the car." My grandmother orders them and they quickly do as she says.

Jemma and I share a smile.

My dad clears his throat. "William? Football?"

They both leave towards the living room. They'd both been banished from kitchen duties. Over the years they'd each burned something or other and now were not allowed to help. So, they'd disappear and watch tv all day.

My mom started getting things out, as Jemma and I waited for the guys to return.

When they came in, we grabbed everything we'd need and all four of us walked to the pool house to get started.

Fitz immediately turned on the tv. "Come on, Ward. It's safer to stay out of the way."

Grant, so sweet, he turned to me, placing his hands on my hips. "Anything I can help with?"

I shake my head and smile. "Go spend some time with Fitz. He's not allowed in the kitchen."

Grant looks amused. "Why?"

"Because he's a bloody menace in the kitchen." Jemma responds before I can utter a word.

I hold in my laughter. "My dad and grandfather have burned food. Fitz has not only burned and cut himself but he also dropped a hot pie on Jemma's foot once."

Grant laughs looking at Fitz for a second before turning back to me.

"Oh, you think that's funny, do you?" Jemma asks. "He nearly burned my foot off."

"Oh, come off it. You were wearing boots that day!" Fitz comes in yelling, defending himself. "And for the last time, the oven mitt was wet so when I grabbed the pie it burned my hand."

"Well, who dropped it in the sink and didn't check it?" Jemma argues back.

"I don't know why you still cry about it; you didn't get burned meanwhile I burned my hand. I don't ever hear you tell anyone that part." Fitz bellows and off they go, arguing over each other. Only they can understand each other at this point.

I shake my head and turn to organize what I'll be needing.

"Um…" Grant looks from Fitzsimmons to me, "should you maybe stop them?"

I shake my head. "Nah. They always run out of fuel after a couple of minutes. Trust me, it's safer if we don't get involved. Can you preheat the oven at 325 degrees please?"

I pull the potatoes to the side to rinse. I get the chopping board out and the peeler before setting them on the small table.

"Anything else I can do?" Grant comes behind me.

I nod. I point with the peeler. "Next to the oven, in the cabinet, we have cookie sheets and pans. Will you grab a roasting pan for the ham please?"

He goes looking for the roasting pan.

I grab the ham and get it ready for the roasting pan. Grant lays the pan next to me and I set the ham in. I grab a cup of water and poor it in the tray.

"Baby, grab the foil and wrap it tightly around the ham please." I grab a pot and fill it with water before setting it on the stove.

He frowns. "You're not going to put anything on it?"

I smile. "That happens later, dummy."

He makes a face and me before grabbing me by the hips. He pulls my back to his front and places a kiss on my neck. I prefer baby to dummy."

I laugh and he moves to put the ham in the oven. "Wait for the oven to be at the right temperature." I call over my shoulder as I begin to rinse the potatoes. "And then set a timer for two hours."

As I sit to start peeling the potatoes, the wonder twins are now laughing and making their way toward me.

"Better?" I ask trying to hide my smile.

"Loads." They both answer and the oven beeps.

I watch as Grant puts the ham in and sets the timer.

"Come on, Ward. Watch some tv with me." Fitz calls as he kisses Jemma on the cheek and walks out of the kitchen.

Grant looks to me. "I'll be fine, Ken." I tease.

He chuckles and turns to leave. "I prefer dummy." He calls back and I giggle.

"What was that about?" Jemma asks with a smile on her face.

"Nothing. Just teasing." I answer as I keep peeling. "Do you want to start with the cranberry sauce?"

She nods and starts getting the items ready.

"So, how's it going with Grant? Did you talk to him?" Jemma looks at me from under her lashes and I know exactly what she's asking.

"I told him about being taken and about my triggers. He guessed I had PTSD." I continue peeling and clear my throat.

"What did he say?" She gives me a sad smile as she turns on the burner that is next to my pot of water and puts her pot on the stove.

I shrug. "Nothing. I don't think he wanted to push the subject. I know he must have questions but I don't think I can answer any of them yet. Although, I did promise to go over my triggers. He wants to be prepared and not cause any himself if he can help it."

"And are you going to tell me what happened the day before yesterday? What did this Kara girl say? Where did you go? You're not allowed to disappear like that and you know it." Stern and angry Jemma is never fun. She turns to give me a scolding look before turning back to make the cranberry sauce.

I sigh. Ugh. Here we go. "She's Grant's friend and he hadn't told her we were together. She asked me if we were. I was taken aback by her question and answered her honestly. She made some comments about him using me and kicking me to the curb soon enough and it upset me."

I catch Jemma turn to give me a look and then frowns. "Why would she not know you guys were dating and why would she say something like that to you?"

I look to her, "Because apparently she and Grant had a friends with benefits kind of thing going on and she's super pissed at me. He only just told me. I think he may have spoken to her yesterday." I look down again, avoiding her eyes.

"He what?!" She half yells.

"Jemma." I say through gritted teeth. "Lower your voice." I warn.

"Please tell me he stopped seeing her before he started up with you?" She's turned away from the stove now. She better not let that sugar burn or she'll have to start all over.

I nod. "He told me he hadn't spoken to her because he didn't want to me feel awkward. Look, I knew who Grant Ward was before this started. I've watched him for a year. I knew he was a player before this started but I trust him." I shake my head trying to clear it. "Anyway, after I talked to her, I got mad and instead of yelling at him, I turned my phone off and forgot to turn it back on. It scares me how I feel about him." I admit.

"You love him." I meet her eyes and her eyebrows are up and her mouth is hanging open.

I squeeze my eyes shut. "Do you think he knows?"

Jemma slowly puts her face back together and checks on her pot. "I don't know, Skye. It just hit me now as I heard you talk about him. I don't know if he loves you back but I can tell you that he really cares about you. He went totally mad with worry looking for you. He called Mr. Stark for goodness sake." She adds something to the pot and I continue with the potatoes.

"I know. I got an earful from Tony." I admit.

"I really like him for you, Skye."

I blush. "Thanks. I do too."

She laughs quietly. "He's so manly." She blushes and it's my turn to laugh. "Don't tell either of them I said that." She warns. "I think Fitz may have a crush on him."

I laugh as I finish peeling. "I think he likes Fitz too. It's weird. I know you guys barely liked Miles and vice versa. I thought I was fine with it but with Grant, it's so different. I wanted you guys to like each other. I don't know what I would have done if you guys didn't."

Jemma rolled her eyes at me and I stand to put the potatoes in my pot of water, turning on the burner.

"It's really weird to see you this way."

"What way?" I turn with a frown, I'm confused.

"The way you are with him. I know you've known him for well over a year but you guys went from freezing cold to hot and steamy very quickly. You normally take a while to warm up to people and that's understandable. It's who you are. You're guarded because of your parents. Too many people approach you because of who they are and not for the sake of knowing you. You've had to grow some tough skin over the years. With Grant, it changed so quickly."

I feel guilty. I want to tell her about the assignment and what triggered everything but I keep it to myself and I can't place why. Jemma is my best friend. She'd never tell anyone or judge me but I still don't say anything.

I take a deep breath. "I know what you mean. I think we both misunderstood each other and I think a lot of the frustration we had with each other was attraction and neither wanted to admit to it." Well, I knew but I wasn't going to look desperate. "I don't know. As soon as we started spending time together, it all clicked. It was like we fit, like two pieces of a puzzle. It just felt right."

"Awe." Her head tilts and I roll my eyes.

"Stop that."

"Do you want to make a cheesecake too?" She asks as she smells her sauce. I have to admit it's smelling delicious.

I close my eyes thinking of eating a slice of cheesecake. It's one of my favorite desserts. "Yes! Great idea!"

I get the standing mixer out and decide to do the pumpkin pies first to please my grandmother. Pumpkin pie is her favorite and a staple of our Thanksgiving traditions.

Jemma and I continue mostly quietly as we both finish what we're doing. I go to the main house to get the pie crusts my mother made last night and bring them back to put in the second oven. The ovens here in the pool house are smaller but stacked. One on top and one on the bottom.

My dad had them put in when I was in high school when he saw how much I loved to bake. I hated when he and mom tried to grab at things while I baked so I always came in here when I felt inspired. I didn't let anyone touch my baked goods until they were ready to be eaten.

Both Grant and Fitz came in and out of the kitchen a couple of times. Fitz primarily came in to get refills on his drink or for more snacks, while Grant came in to check up on things and give me quick kisses. I loved the feel of his hands on my hips and his lips on the crook of my neck.

If he didn't come to me, I went to him. I'd walk over from time to time too to see what they were watching on TV. I stand behind the couch where Grant was sitting and run my hand through his hair. I loved the feel of his soft hair and I loved watching the goosebumps form on his neck when I ran my hand through it. It brought a smile to my face. I leaned over, putting my arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips.

"How's the food coming along because it smells delicious?" He asked as I leaned away from our kiss.

"I agree and it looks it too. How's the game?" I look up to see that they're watching football.

"The Green Bay Packers are beating the Lions." Grant answers without turning to me.

I smile, remembering Trip likes the Lions. "Let's go, Packers!" I cheer.

Grant has a wry smile on his face. "Why the Packers?"

I laugh. "Because Trip likes the Lions and it'll be funny to tease him about his team." I'm not gonna lie. I like teasing Trip.

Grant laughs. I love that sound. "Go Pack go!" He adds, making me laugh.

I head back to the kitchen and Jemma and I take everything that's done to the main house to keep it in warmers.

The mashed potatoes and gravy and cranberry sauce are all done. The pumpkin pies should be coming out of the oven.

Jemma and I get started on the New York Style cheesecake. In the end, we make too much batter and end up with enough for two pies.

We take turns glazing the ham and when it's done, we relax with the guys on the couch. Jemma is sitting next to Fitz and I'm curled up, sitting on Grant's lap. I've got my arm curled under his back and the other across his stomach. He's got one hand on my hip and the other on my thigh.

"Come on Dolphins! Show some defense." We are now watching the Dolphins play the Cowboys. I have no idea what I'm yelling at the TV but it sounds right.

The Packer game against the Lions is over. They beat the Lions and I laughed, knowing I'd make fun of Trip for it.

Grant laughs at me. "I didn't know you were a Dolphins fan."

I shrug. "Who doesn't like dolphins? They're beautiful and intelligent creatures."

He looks at me for a while with a look. I can't read the expression. A soft smile covers his face. He's utterly handsome. "You're a beautiful and intelligent creature." He says softly before bringing my chin up to kiss me on the lips.

My insides burn. I feel like this is a side of Grant nobody else but me has ever witnessed. Never, in the time I've known or watched him would I have guessed that he was capable of being so sweet. He makes me feel safe, warm and even loved. I might be reading too much into it or adding what I feel for him cloud my judgment but I don't care. I love being with him.

"Right back at you, Ken." I lean my nose against him.

He flinches away with a look of disgust and I hold onto my laugh.

"Way to ruin a moment, Princess."

"What? What did I do?" I pretend I don't know what he's talking about.

"It's time we find me a new nickname. I think I'm about done with Ken. It's played out." He kisses my jaw and leans back on the couch.

I laugh and continue watching the game.

"Who's Ken?" Fitz asks. "Is that your middle name, Ward?" Fitz asks as he shoves popcorn in his mouth.

"Fitz that's enough with the junk food. You are spoiling your appetite. Lian will be angry if you don't eat your dinner." Jemma scolds. She takes the bowl of popcorn from his hands and places it on the coffee table. I watch Fitz follow the bowl with his eyes before giving Jemma a pointed look.

"No, my middle name is not Ken." Grant answers. I can feel his head turn towards Fitz. "Princess thinks it's funny to call me Ken. From Ken and Barbie. It's not funny and there's really no story there." He explains and I roll my eyes.

"What is your middle name, Ward?" Jemma asks.

"Douglas." He answers.

"How about Mr. Softy?" I ask looking up at him.

He tilts his head, giving me a look. "No."

I pout. "Fine. How about robot?"

He scowls. "Robot?"

I nod.

"Are you thinking Terminator?" Fitz asks.

I shrug. "Sure." A few people already call him that around campus.

I feel Grant shake his head. "No. Why robot?"

I want to laugh. "Why not? Grant, you are like a robot at the Academy. SHIELD gives you an order or assignment and you complete it no questions asked."

I don't mean it as a bad thing but I can feel him stiffen and something cross over his eyes. What did I say? I meant he was perfect. So perfect he wasn't human sometimes. So unlike all us average people. He was quick, smart, agile and completely determined. He was given a task and by God did he nail it every time.

"Is that how you see me? You think I'm some cold, robotic machine? No feelings? No pain? Just a cold empty shell?" He asks angry, pushing me off his lap.

I'm taken aback by his reaction and I don't know what to say for a second. "Woah. Woah. Grant, that's not what I meant. That's not how I see you."

He stood up and dragged a hand through his hair. He looked agitated. He was worked up and I don't know why my words had set him off so bad.

GRANT POV

I'm fuming and I don't even blame Skye. Her words just hit to close to home. I'd heard people around campus refer to me as a robot or a T1000 in the past. I'd taken pride in that before.

I would be given assignments in the past to be treated as missions and I always got the job done no questions asked. That's what was expected from a SHIELD Agent. I was determined to show Director Fury I was the perfect fit for this organization. I'd worked my ass off to make Vic and Izzy proud of me.

I got the job done, simple as that. But this damn 'fake' not so fake assignment was eating up at me. Every part of me craved Skye. I wanted to be better for her. I wanted to keep her safe. I wanted this relationship to work out but it wouldn't if I couldn't be honest with her. The simple truth was I couldn't be honest with her.

For the first time in my life I wanted to say 'screw SHIELD!' and only worry about Skye. I hated that everyone wanted to keep her in the dark over her own safety. Skye was a fucking agent in training. She was an adult. She knew how to take care of herself and she was so fucking smart. Keeping her in the dark was going to backfire on all of us.

I was angry at myself and I'd exploded on her. I turn back to her, feeling like an asshole. I approach the couch slowly. "I'm sorry, sweetheart." I sit next to her.

"I don't understand what happened?" She admits looking lost. "I don't know what I said that was so wrong." God, I'm a fucking asshole. Her face breaks me. She looks hurt.

I drop my head in shame. "It wasn't you, Princess. I'm sorry. Look, I know what people say behind my back. I know what they call me. To be honest, I liked it before. People left me alone. I felt like a tin man. I didn't have a heart. But all that's changed. Skye, I've told you already, I don't like feeling like this. It's all so foreign to me. I don't like feeling vulnerable and at the same time, I'm grateful I am. But I don't want you to see me as some cold-hearted robot. That's not who I want to be, not for you."

Her face falls to the side and her expression changes. She has a smile on her face and her eyes soften. She lifts her hands to either side of my face.

"Listen to me, Grant Douglas Ward. I know you're not some empty, cold-hearted, robot. That's not what I meant. I know why people call you that and they're so far from the truth and at the same time right on target. You are perfect. Everything you set your mind to you achieve. You are smart, strong, courageous, kind, humble and fucking gorgeous. You're going to be one hell of an agent." She pulls me to her and kisses me.

I lean into the kiss and softly run my tongue against hers.

She pulls back and places a hand over my heart, which is running wild from her confession. "And remember, the tinman always had a heart, he just didn't know it was there."

She leans her forehead to mine and I swear I love this woman. I take a deep breath. I want to tell her but my guilt holds me back. Soon, my beautiful Princess. Soon, I will tell you what is going on and if you don't hate me, I will tell you I love you.

Fuck. I still can't get over how frightening that is.

I mischievous smile appears on her gorgeous face.

"What?" I narrow my eyes at her and lean away.

"If I can't call you Ken, can I call you my tinman?" Her smile gets wider and then she pouts, giving me puppy eyes.

I roll my eyes, a quirk I picked up from her. "Fine." I finally say, agreeing. Only we'd know the meaning of it and I liked the idea of that.

"Yay!" She squeals throwing her hands in the air.

"I'd prefer terminator." Fitz says, reminding me that we're not alone. He sounds like he's thinking it over. "T1000 if I had a choice. He was a much better version than the original." He keeps mumbling to himself.

Skye and I share a look and smile before turning back to him and Simmons.

"Oh, Fitz. You killed their moment." Simmons slaps Fitz's shoulder.

"Me? I just gave them my opinion." He defends.

"Yes, but they were having a beautiful moment."

"We're sitting right here. They knew we were sitting right here. We didn't magically disappear."

"Oh, Fitz. Honestly. You think that was the right time to talk when they were clearly going through something?"

"All I said was that I'd prefer to be called the terminator instead of tinman. How is that ruining a moment?"

And they were off like they'd been this morning. At one point they start talking over each other and I can't keep track of who's saying what. If I didn't know they were already together I'd tell them to find a room and get it over with already.

"They did this a lot more before they started hooking up." Skye leans in and tells me quietly. I watch her eyes bounce from Fitz to Simmons and back again.

We sit back and watch the show that is Fitzsimmons. I forget about the game and put my arm around Skye. I wonder how long they can keep this up before tiring.

Just then, the door swings open. A cleaned-up Melinda May walks in. She eyes my arm that sits around Skye but doesn't say anything.

"We're eating in just under an hour. All of you get over to the main house and freshen up." She points at all of us. "Turn that TV off and Fitz, clean up your mess in here before coming up." With that, she turns and walks back outside.

I tell Skye to go on ahead while I help Fitz clean up. She gives me a quick kiss as she and Simmons grab the pies from the kitchen and head over to the house.

Fitz and I hurry with the mess and rush over. I grab my clothes and find a bathroom in the hall with a shower. I open a hall closet and find towels. I take a quick shower and get ready.

Just as I enter the room I'm staying in, my phone rings. I smile when I see it's Vic.

"Happy Thanksgiving." I answer.

"Will you look at that? I got a happy thanksgiving and all I had to do was call." Her sarcasm has always been one of my favorite things about her.

"I was going to call you after dinner to give you a rundown of the day." I explain, sitting on the bed.

"Hmm." She says. "How's it going so far?"

"It's as well as could be expected, I guess. Skye's grandparents are a bit inappropriate and I don't think either May or Coulson appreciate it." I think about this morning. "I only saw them for a bit this morning. I'm sure I'll be a focus for discussion during dinner, even if it's only for a while."

"How were they inappropriate?" I can hear her smile through her voice.

"They asked if we were sleeping in the same room."

"Well, aren't you?"

"Vic, for shitssake. We're at Skye's parents' house."

"Oh, like they don't know you guys are fucking." Vic, always with the charm.

"Vic, can we please not."

"What? You're telling me you haven't had sex with the girl?"

"Vic." I pinch the bridge of my nose.

"I bet you'd tell Izzy." Now she's pouting.

"That's because she's discreet and you're vulgar." I chuckle.

"I can be discreet." She argues.

"I'm sure you could be if you cared enough to try." I challenge and that makes her laugh.

"So, you have slept with her." She guesses.

"Do you care?"

"Of course not. I'm just making a point. You're both young and attractive. Nobody is going to believe you guys moved forward with your relationship this quickly and you aren't fucking."

"And that's the last time you get to say fucking during this phone conversation."

"Fine. So, you won't be sharing a room with Skye tonight."

"No!" I'm at the damn Cavalry's house. I'm dating her daughter. I'm not ready to die.

"Seems like a loss. How else are you going to burn off all the calories you are going to eat without some sex afterward?"

"I can always go for a run." I sigh.

"That doesn't sound as fun."

"Well, I'd rather do that overthinking we might get caught if we do anything."

"Just how loud do you guys get? May and Coulson might not live in a mansion but the house is a pretty good size. You think they'll be able to hear you from their room? They'll probably be doing the same thing."

The thought enters my mind before I can stop it. It disgusts me and I'd rather not think about it.

"Ok, if you don't change the subject then I'm going to hang up because that's the last thing I want to be thinking about." I warn.

"You're such a prude." She boos.

"Vic, how old are you?" I joke.

There's a knock on my door before it's opened. Skye's head pops in. "Hey, you ready? We're all heading to the dining room." She offers me a smile and then notices I'm on the phone. "Oops. Is that Izzy or Vic? I'll tell mom to wait a couple of minutes." She starts backing up.

"No. It's ok. I'm done." I tell her away from the phone. "Vic, I gotta go. We're staring dinner."

"Ok. Be yourself and you'll impress the shit out of them." She tells me. "Oh, save me some rolls. Lian makes the stuffed rolls every Thanksgiving. Sneak some for me, will you?"

"I don't think she mentioned them earlier." I apologize.

"Oh, they'll be there. You'll see."

"And how do you expect me to get them to you?" I ask.

"Damn."

"I've got to go. I'll just have some for you."

"Take a picture and send it my way." She suggests.

"Bye."

"Bye, buddy."

I hang up and get off the bed to join Skye. I hope dinner goes better than this morning went. And I hope nobody brings up sex again because I don't want to die at the hands of the Cavalry.

"You ready?" Skye asks. She knew I was nervous.

"Let's do it." I smile, hiding exactly how nervous I was.

MAY POV

"Talk to Fury. Call his off, Phil." I urge my husband one more time.

How had I missed it? I'd been so wrong. I thought Skye had a crush on Grant but it ran deeper than that. Today only served as clarification. My daughter was in love with Grant Ward.

I'd not only watched her but him as well. I watched how careful he was with her; how thoughtful he was. He'd gently touch her when he thought we weren't looking. I watched the way he looked at her when Phil wasn't looking at him. If he wasn't already in love with Skye, he was falling fast.

I clench my fists tighter. This wasn't going to turn out well for Skye, especially if we kept her in the dark. I understood why Fury and Phil wanted to keep her in the dark. But my dear, sweet Skye was not the same girl she'd been before she was kidnapped. It broke my heart to see the changes. In some ways, it was good because I know she can handle herself but the innocence was gone from her and that tore me apart.

Skye was going to hate not just Grant but us when the truth came out and it was only a matter of when. She was stuck with her father and I. She'd be angry, sure. Maybe even avoid us for some time but we were her parents. We'd always be in her life.

It was Grant who'd get the worst of it. Their relationship had started off based on a lie and worse, he knew about it now.

I feel shame. What had I let my husband talk me into?

"Look, I admit maybe we should come up with an alternative to why he needs to be around her but I don't see what the big problem here is, Mel." Phil sits on our bed, getting ready to sleep for the night.

"Phil, are you blind or playing stupid?" I snap.

"What the hell does that mean?" His voice is on edge, telling me he's as angry as I am.

"Phil, please tell me you saw what I saw tonight. Because this goes beyond the crush, I thought Skye had for that boy." I point in the direction of her room. "She's in love with him, Phil. I know you tried not to watch him all night but you have to have noticed the way he is with her. This 'fake' relationship is anything but. They are really together. You have to call this off or talk to Skye."

I watch as his face turns red with anger and he clenches his jaw.

"He isn't right for her. He's a player. That little piece of shit better not have laid a finger on my little girl or I'll kill him myself."

"She's not a little girl anymore, Phil. And it's not up to you if he's right for her or not. I'm telling you there's more going on there that we know and you need to speak to Fury or your daughter before this gets any worse." I threaten. I wasn't going to budge on this.

"I know she's not a little girl anymore. But he's bad for her, Melinda."

I shake my head, exasperated with my husband. "Phil, for Pete's sake. Were we not at the same dinner table?"

He frowns. "What does that mean?"

"I haven't seen Skye so alive since…since…" I try to remember when I've seen her like this, "I can't even remember. She's in love, Phil. She's happy. She was animated. She was telling jokes. He was telling jokes. She laughed and she teased him. Please tell me you saw her?" My heart melts. I knew I couldn't hate Grant Ward, not after seeing how happy my baby was around him. "He did that. He makes her happy. She's comfortable and she's herself around him."

I step around the bed and sit next to Phil.

Holding his hands in mine, I beg once more. "Please talk to Fury. End this stupid assignment. She'll be heartbroken when she finds out. She'll blame him and he's an innocent bystander." I plead with my eyes and Phil sighs.

"I'll talk to Fury about the assignment but we can't tell her, Mel. We don't know how she'll react to the news. It could cause a major trigger. We don't want to set her back with her mental health."

"But if she knew, she could be on guard. She could keep an eye out. A damn van was waiting in the parking lot near her dorm, Phil." I saw through clenched teeth just thinking about it sent me into a boiling, angry, panic.

"And look how that triggered her, Mel." He argues with me and I don't have a response to that. "She could do nothing in that moment of panic. We've both watched the tapes of campus security. She was triggered and couldn't defend herself. Giving her the information we have would only make her paranoid and she'd be worse off." He rubs my shoulder and I nod weakly.

We climb into bed and before I fall asleep, I say, "We need to talk to him. Let him know we know about them. Don't hate him, Phil. He loves our baby too."


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: Mature content coming up. Thanks for all the comments and follows.

SKYE POV

My dad tries to convince us to stay for the day but I was not going to let him ruin my day with Grant. Most of the students were off campus which meant that Grant and I would mostly have the dorms to ourselves.

I said goodbye to my grandparents and parents before we loaded up Grant's jeep.

"We didn't have to leave so early. I know you'd like to spend more time with your grandparents. We could have done that." Grant drives and it melts my heart that he's so considerate.

I shake my head. "I do miss them but they'll be leaving soon. They don't linger after the holiday. My grandmother likes to get her holiday shopping done this weekend."

I lay back on my seat, enjoying our car ride. Grant has his hand resting on my thigh and I play with his hair, just above his neck. We talk about the weekend and our plans for next week.

"I have swim practice with Trip tomorrow." He reminds me.

I smile. I'd totally forgotten. I am definitely going to see that.

"You want to meet me after practice and we can get some lunch?" Grant asks as he pulls into a parking space outside of my dorm.

"Oh, I'm coming by but it'll be early." I tell him.

He gives me an amused look before he comes around to open my door.

We gather our bags and we walk hand in hand to my room.

"Why are you coming early?"

I blush a little. "I don't think I've seen you wet and in swimwear before."

The corner of his mouth comes up and he gives me a sideways glance. "You think you can control yourself with that many people around, Princess? Why not hit the pool tonight? Just the two of us." He's pulling me into him. He kisses the side of my neck.

He must feel how my body tenses because he steps back to see what's wrong.

How do I tell him I'm afraid of the damn pool? I'm so pathetic.

"Princess, what's wrong?"

I sigh. "Let's get inside. I think it's time we talk about my triggers." I know I sound defeated. I had agreed to go over them with him but I kept pushing it off.

I hated my triggers. I hated the weakness they made me feel. I hated not being in control of my own body. Mostly, I hated that they'd been caused my Uncle John. John Garrett still haunted me. He'd broken me and it didn't matter that he was dead now because I felt like I'd always be broken.

I watch sadness pass through Grant's eyes and I walk off toward my room at a quicker pace. That was another reason I was putting this off. I hated the sadness and pity people showed me. I had enough of it with Fitzsimmons, my parents, Tony, Fury, Maria, Clint and Nat. Now I had to add Grant to that list.

I don't know if I could handle Grant looking at me with pity but he was right. He had the right to know, as much as I was willing to tell him. We couldn't avoid my triggers if he didn't know about them.

He follows closely behind me as I reach my room. I unlock the door and set my bags down. I go sit on my bed, as Grant locks my door and comes to sit on my desk chair. He moves it until he's sitting directly in front of me. Our knees touch. He waits for me to speak.

I clear my throat. Where do I begin?

"When I was taken," I take a big gulp, "I was put on the floor of a cargo van. I didn't even know that was a trigger until I saw one the other day. It might have also been because I already felt watched." I shrug. Grant is quiet, so I continue, "I freaked outside of Hunter's place because the building I was kept to looked like the outside of that building." My hands get clammy. I hate talking about this. "I ca-can't be in water. I can't get in bathtubs. Showers I've gotten used to. I don't know how I'll do if we shower together. I can't go in a damn pool." I keep talking about water but not why I'm affected by it. I don't want to look at his reaction. I keep my eyes down. "He—John Garrett took me. I grew up with him. I called him Uncle John. He was in charge of the men who tortured me. He had them waterboard me. A lot of the time, it was him doing it. At least toward the end, it was him because he was so angry at me for not giving him the answers he wanted. He had me tied up the entire time." I'm shaking and I'm crying.

I fight to stay in the present. I can feel being dragged down but I had to tell Grant. He needed to understand.

"Once tied up, he'd have them pour water on me. Or he'd tie me upside down and dunk me. He had me electrocuted and beaten. He didn't let them beat me too much. He didn't want me hurt to where I couldn't talk. I think he was scared that someone would take it too far and I'd die. That's all I wanted to do. I wanted to die. He kept asking me things about my dad that I didn't know. Nothing he said made sense. He didn't like my answers so he tortured me some more. He got so angry. He started doing the electrocution and waterboarding himself and he'd yell at me. He threatened me, telling me he was losing patience but he promised he'd keep me alive for a long time. He said he'd break me. He struck me a couple of times. He kept me chained and starved." I try to separate myself from my words but I can feel it becoming real.

Grant is holding my hands and I focus on the feel of them in mine. I focus on his warmth. But just as I'm about to slip into John's words in my head, Grant picks up my hand and puts it on his chest. "Breathe with me, Princess."

His words catch me off guard but I focus on his breathing and realize my breathing had been abnormal and my palms were sweaty. I finally look into his eyes and breathe with him.

I don't see pity like I thought I would in his eyes. Instead, I see kindness, pride and something I can't name but I love the expression.

We sit like this for a couple of moments. "I'm sorry you went through that, sweetheart. You're so damn strong." He brings his hands to either side of my face and leans our foreheads together before he kisses me.

The kiss is soft, slow and beautiful. We're quiet as I gather some strength.

I sigh and move off the bed to sit on his lap. "It took them five days to find me. Before I was taken, I'd found out about Sophie and Miles. I was so embarrassed, so I called Fitzsimmons and told them I was breaking up with Miles and needed some time on my own. I talked to Miles, letting him know I knew he was cheating but I didn't mention Sophie." Grant rubs my back and I continue. "He argued with me. He always tried to make me feel guilty when I accused him of something. I didn't break up with him. He must have been busy with Sophie because it took him a few days before he came looking for me and only then, he only came looking for me because my dad called him. I typically talk or text my mom or dad a couple of times a week. When I didn't communicate, they got worried but they were both out of town. When Miles checked on me, he saw my room was out of order. He had the sense to call Nat, who got ahold of Director Fury and Tony. When they found me, it took me a while to recover but I wasn't going to be weak ever again. I wanted to be able to defend myself. So, I requested a transfer. Fury granted it and because of my skill and knowledge, he let me stay in my year. He also made me see my psychologist."

Grant holds me close and moves us to my bed. We lay comfortably. I stay silent again for a bit. There's something in me that tells me to keep going. He makes me feel so comfortable and so safe. He's letting me go at my own pace and isn't pushing me for answers to questions he has.

I know Fitzsimmons and my parents mean well but any time I tried to say something they always look heartbroken and they have questions I don't feel prepared to answer.

"My dad lost it when Fury accepted the transfer. I think he was ready for me to quit SHIELD. My mom did nothing but back me up. I think she saw how important it was for me to get my power back. She wanted me to learn to defend myself. She wanted me to find strength within myself again. So, she battled with my dad and convinced him to back me up. Miles came to see me and I broke up with him. He apologized but by that time he did it, I was over it. I finally confronted him about Sophie and every other girl I had heard about. He had nothing to say. I was never in love with him but it still hurt when it ended." Grant is playing with my hair and I focus on the feel of it.

Still, he says nothing. I think he's waiting for me to say I'm done or to ask him something but I know I'm not finished.

"As soon as my body recovered, I started training with my mom, Nat and Clint. The metal recovery is still ongoing but I know I've come a long way. Water is one of the biggest triggers that I still have to overcome. I hope it gets better. I can't be a real agent if I can't overcome it."

I had finally said something to trigger a response because Grant shoots up in bed. He sits and looks down at me. I can see anger in his eyes.

"Listen to me." He says and I can see the fake calm he's trying to project. "You are and will always be a real agent. People have and cope with PTSD. This will not cripple you. You took a tragedy; a horrific experience and you've used it to your advantage. You've found strength, power and grace from what happened to you. You're a force to be reckoned with." He caresses my face. "Please, princess, for me, please don't sell yourself short like that. You've done more than anyone here to prove that you belong. You are going to make one hell of a SHIELD agent."

A small smile appears on my face, as I see his eyes change from hard to soft. I love him so much. I tug his arm and he lies back on the bed next to me. I cuddle up as close to him as I can.

"I came to Operations and I met Trip who felt like a long-lost brother almost from the beginning. Bobbi has always been kind, supporting and encouraging. And then there's this guy Grant Ward." I smile.

He grunts. "That asshole."

I giggle and poke him in the ribs. "You've done nothing but push me from the moment I met you."

"No, Skye. I made your life hell. Instead of helping, I was kicking you while you were down. I crippled you in your moments of weakness." I cannot only hear the pain and anger in his voice but feel it. The energy he's emitting isn't hard to pick up on. I hate that he feels like this.

"You didn't know. And you didn't cripple me. Everyone around me was treating me like I was made of glass. You—you pushed me. You made me want to prove not just to others but to myself that I had the right to be here. You might have been an ass but I know that's not who you are. You work too hard making people think you're cold but you're a caring man, Grant Ward. I saw and still see how hard you work. You want to be the best but it's not an ego thing. You truly care about saving people, helping those who need it. You want to bring justice and you understand that the world is not black and white. You are respected. I aspire to be like you."

He chuckles into my hair. "Skye, don't aspire to be anyone other than yourself. You are as close to perfect as anyone gets. Where I am dark and moody, you are bright and hopeful. I've let a lot of my background dictate who I am now. I came out of it with anger and resentment whereas you, my princess, you've come out of it stronger and brighter than before. Knowing now—knowing what happened to you only adds to how I feel about you. You leave me in awe at every turn. You're my complete opposite and my mirror image in a lot of ways. You are exactly what I need to come out of the dark."

His confession has my heart racing. He's saying everything I wished he would say. Other than the three little words I want to hear most but it's pretty close.

"I'm tired. Can we nap?" I ask because I don't want to push what he's just told me.

He kisses the top of my head. "Whatever you want, sweetheart." I smile into his chest and I feel the change in his body.

"What?"

"I—I'm sorry, Princess. I ju—just want to know. What happened to Garrett?" His voice is cold again and I can feel his anger travel through his body.

"He's dead." I answer. Knowing he's dead has always stirred up different emotions in me.

I can feel Grant's body relax. "Good." He holds me closer. "I won't let anything like that happen to you ever again, Princess. Nobody else will touch you. I'll kill them." His words feel raw and honest. I feel so safe even when I can sense the threat in his voice. I believe him. I believe he would kill for me and I don't know how to feel about that.

"Nobody is touching me, tinman." I curl my arm around his waist. "Relax. The bad people are gone." I fall asleep quickly as he strokes my hair.

GRANT POV

Miles, you stupid, piece of shit. Not only had he cheated on Skye but because of his carelessness, Skye had not been found sooner. If I didn't hate him before, I hate him now.

Skye stirs under my arms. I stroke her hair and kiss the top of her head. I can't help but smile as she cuddles up to me in her sleep. My heart stops as a smile appears on her face. She's only been asleep for twenty minutes but I can tell she's deep in REM.

I look at her, truly look at her maybe for the first time. I've never had the opportunity to just look at her before this. Sure, I've watched her but I've been quickly caught and have always looked away. Now, I have full access to her beauty. Her hair is soft and full. Her cheeks are a rosy pink as she sleeps and her mouth is open slightly. I marvel at the beauty in my arms.

How could anyone ever lay a finger on her? I'm glad John Garrett is dead. I wasn't lying when I told her I'd kill him. He deserved to die for what he did to her. I know she didn't tell me everything he did to her but I wasn't going to ask her any questions. I wasn't going to push her. She'd tell me when she was ready.

"Grant." I frown. I didn't know she's woken up.

"I'm here, sweetheart."

"Gertoff the bench." She mumbles.

I smile. What? "What was that?"

"You like theredog? Up the tree." I can barely make out her gibberish.

I didn't know she talked in her sleep. Damn. I feel like a fool and definitely whipped. This girl is talking gibberish in her sleep and I find it cute as hell.

"Go to sleep, Princess." I press a kiss to her forehead and I match the smile on her face.

"I love you."

My body freezes. Did she just—no. No. I shake my head. She's having a dream. She's not actually telling me she loves me. She thinks there's a dog up a tree for god sake.

The urge to tell her I love her is there. Fuck it. She's asleep. She won't know. "I love you, Princess." I hold her close and kiss her once more. "I'll always be here to protect you. Nobody is getting to you. I promise."

"Get the crackers." She frowns and shakes her head.

I chuckle to myself as Skye goes back to her dreaming. I fall asleep at some point after that and I'm awakened sometime later to something tickling my neck.

I cringe and pull away.

Skye gasp. "Are you ticklish? How did I not know?" Her voice is still thick from sleep but I can hear the smile on her face as she teases.

"Morning, Princess." I greet and don't move.

The tickling on my neck, I realize now was Skye's nose and mouth. We're both on our sides facing each other. I can feel one of her legs between mine. I have my arms wrapped around her. Both her arms are pressed on my chest.

I love waking up to her.

"Pff. Afternoon more like it. I think we slept longer than we should have. It's already two in the afternoon." She doesn't move from her spot either.

My eyes fly open and look at the clock on her nightstand. It's twelve past two.

"I don't think I've ever napped this long." She says.

"I don't think I've ever napped." I tell her.

"Can we just stay in today? I don't want to move." She nuzzles into my neck again and I automatically squirm. She giggles into my neck.

I ignore her giggle. "Works for me. Don't you have training at the gym today?" I seem to recall she has wrestling.

"Mmmm." She groans. "It's ok. I'll call to cancel." She decides. "I'm going to get fat."

It's my turn to laugh at her. "You're not going to get fat after one week, Princess."

"This is how it starts." She warns. "I have a schedule set up because I know myself. I'm going to go back to my lazy true nature and I'm gonna get fat." She pouts. "You're not gonna want to have a fat girlfriend for long."

I slap her ass and then squeeze it as she yelps. "There's going to be more to hold onto if you add a couple of more pounds. I wouldn't complain." I squeeze her ass again.

She smacks my chest playfully. "You only get to slap that ass when you're inside me."

Fuck. I can feel myself get hard at the image of that. I roll over her. "Is that an invitation?" I make sure to press my growing member to her core.

She moans. "It wasn't but you can take it as one." She lifts and rolls her hips against me.

I grow harder against her. I lean down and take her mouth. She tastes so sweet. She likes to take possession of the kiss. Silly girl, she never learns. She may be my equal, but I dominate the bed. I push harder against her mouth and fight for dominance. After a couple of minutes, she relents and I smile into our kiss.

I bite and pull on her bottom lip as I start to undo her pants.

"One of these days, I'm going to be on top." She warns me with a smile.

I laugh because I know what she means. "Baby, you can climb and ride me whenever you want."

She laughs. "You know what I mean. Don't forget, I'm a princess. I get what I want." She lifts one eyebrow. Her eyes are bright and mischievous.

She won't. I like control when having sex and as much as I love how strong she is, I want her to submit to me. I love that I can command her body.

I push down her pants along with her panties. I move down her body to yank them off completely. My eyes don't leave hers as I do this. She sits up and takes off her top and bra.

I crawl back on the bed to kiss her. She opens her mouth and bites my lower lip before sucking on it. I growl into her mouth.

I pull away once more. I'm dying to taste her. I need to have her in my mouth. I move down her body and she whines in protest.

I crawl between her legs and as soon as my tongue touches her, she moans and her back arched off the bed. Her hand immediately runs through my hair and presses my head harder into her core. Fuck. I love to taste her.

I watch her as I run my tongue up and down her slit before opening her and sucking on her clit. She's coming undone and I love watching it. My pants are becoming uncomfortable as I'm straining against the material.

My tongue enters her and she all but screams. "Yes, oh my…I'm going to cum." She moans and her hands grip the back on my head.

I speed up and surprise her by pushing two fingers into her core. I suck on her clit and hook my fingers up to rub on her gspot and she loses it. She rides her orgasm and her legs twitch and spasm on either side of me.

I continue licking her clean until she comes down from her high. When she opens her eyes to look at me, I can see the hunger there. I kiss the inside of both her thighs before crawling back over her. I need to be inside her.

I start to undo my pants but she's got other plans. She hooks a leg around me and rolls us so that she's on top.

She kisses me with hunger and I respond.

"Mmm. I can taste myself on you." She says as she tugs at my pants. Fuck. I lift my hips to help her take them off. I pull off my Henley as she tugs my shoes and pants off, boxers included. "I'm going to taste you now." She smiles, looking up at me.

I want to watch her do this, so I crawl up and rest my back against her headboard. She kisses down my neck, sucking there for a moment before moving down to my chest, stomach and finally she palms my hard cock.

Our eyes are locked together. She bends over me and she licks me from base to tip. I dig my hands into her comforter. She then kisses the tip before taking me in her mouth.

Her mouth is so hot around me. She wraps her mouth around me and I can feel her tongue as it runs around me. I twitch in her mouth and I curse out loud. She pumps the part of me not in her mouth. I moan as my hand moves to cradle the back of her head. I guide her pace as she bobs on my dick.

I'm getting close to exploding in her mouth when she takes me by surprise. She somehow opens wide and inch by inch takes the rest of me in her mouth. I'm hitting the back of her mouth repeatedly. She then takes me out of her mouth only to spit on me. Fuck. My dick twitches. Why did that look so hot? She pumps me three times before taking me back in her mouth. She takes all of me again and bobs faster than before.

"Fuck. Princess, I'm going to cum." I warn her.

She smiles around me and sucks hard. She bobs a handful of times and I explode in her mouth. I can feel the thick release. She keeps sucking and taking all of me. Three more strings of cum shoot out of me and into the back of her throat. She moans around me and swallows all of me. When I'm finally limp in her mouth, she pulls away, kissing my tip before licking her lips.

"Woman, I almost passed out from that." I tell her breathing deeply. I feel like I just ran a marathon. She smiles at me, obviously proud of herself and I return the smile.

"That's exactly how I feel when you've had your way with me." She climbs up to me and straddles me. She tilts her head and starts kissing my neck.

I kiss and suck at the exposed neck in front of me. She tastes so sweet. There's a thin coat of sweat covering her body.

She starts sucking and biting on my neck and I can feel myself coming back to life. "Are you marking me?" I ask her while I chuckle because I know that's exactly what she's doing.

"Yup." She leans back grinning. "If you get to mark me then I get to mark you. You belong to me, Grant Ward."

She looks equally sweet as she looks sexy in this moment. I slap her ass and she yelps. "Grant!"

I chuckle. "I forgot. I have to be inside you to do that." I kiss her and turn sideways to reach for the nightstand. I grab a condom and hand it to her.

She rips it open and slides the condom on my now hard dick. Her hands make me shiver. She lines herself up and lowers herself on me.

There is nothing sweeter than her pussy gripping my dick. She rides me slowly, teasing me. She grips me with her muscles.

I slap her ass. "Move faster, baby." And she does, rolling her hips as she does.

I use my hands to her ass and guide her on my dick. Our pace quickens and soon enough, she's moaning and crying for me. I love hearing my name on her lips like this.

"Fuck, Princess." I grunt as she clenches around me again and again.

"Grant, I'm going to cum." She throws her head back, riding me faster than before.

"Hold it." I say through clenched teeth. I'm close. I'm so close. I want to cum with her. "Don't. Not yet. Not yet."

She whines, as I pick her up and slam her back down on me. Her body obeys and she holds her orgasm back.

"Please." She begs. "I can't hold it. Please. Please."

Her begging is what drives me to my end. "Do it. Cum now. Cum with me. Do it do it do it." I slam into her again and again as her orgasm hits her. I can feel every part of her spasming around me. I release into the condom and once again imagine what it would be like to coat her insides with my cum instead of the inside of the condom.

We both take a minute to catch our breath. She lies on me, her head on my shoulder.

"We need to open up a window." She says. "It smells like sex in here."

I laugh, my head hitting the headboard. She laughs right along with me. Her laugh is sweet, it would have brought a smile to my face if it wasn't already there.

"Ok. Give me a minute." I kiss her shoulder. "I'll open it when I throw this condom out."

We finally separate and I do as I said I'd do. "What are we doing today?" I want to make sure we're still staying in. Her room has become my favorite place to be.

I sit back on the bed after putting my boxers back on. I watch as Skye grabs my Henley off the floor and throws it on. Damn, she looks sexy with my shirt on. She climbs off the bed and grabs a fresh pair of panties to put on.

"Each other." She giggles.

I laugh. "Works for me, Princess. Come on, let's have some leftovers. I'm hungry."

She grabs the bag of leftovers by the door. The bag was made specifically to carry food and I'd seen May throw in some ice packs in there.

Skye starts pulling the containers out and sets them on her desk. She gasps, looking up at me. "When did you put this in here?" She pulls out the cheesecake I'd managed to sneak out. It wasn't a slice but a whole cheesecake.

"I put it aside last night and made sure to put it in there this morning." I stand to grab the plates and silverware she has stored next to her desk. "It's your favorite, right?"

She squeals and hugs me from behind. "Thank you! I forgot to look for it this morning."

I shrug not thinking it was a big deal. "I got you, Princess."

She takes me by the hips and turns me. I look down and she's looking up at me with a soft and happy expression. "Thank you."

I lean down to kiss her on the lips. "You're welcome."

We serve ourselves food and warm the plates in her microwave. She insists that I look through her movie collection and that's how our Friday goes.

We eat, watch movies, have sex and repeat. We end up putting old movies on and talk all the way through them.

I've never felt so comfortable with someone like I do with Skye. Vic and Izzy have always felt like family and we've always been open with each other but something about Skye makes it more personal. She's completely accepting of me. She doesn't judge me and I feel like she's looking at the real me.

Before we end up falling asleep, her phone rings.

"Hello?" She answers. "Oh, hey Jemma. Well, I was going to go to swim practice with Grant and then we were going to go out. Sure. Hold on." She pulls the phone away and looks to me. "Fitzsimmons want to do lunch with us tomorrow."

"Yea. That's fine. We can always find something to do after if they want to hang for the rest of the day." I suggest. I like Fitzsimmons. They were a lot to take at first but they both mean well.

They are two peas in a pod. Both so alike and yet so different. They entertain me when they speak. Watching them argue was a trip. I couldn't understand half the things they were saying to each other. I had no idea how or even if they followed their argument. Mostly, I love how loyal they are to Skye and how much they love her.

"Tinman says lunch sounds great and we can hang out after. Hold on." I smile at her new nickname for me. "Grant, what time is your practice again?"

"Ten thirty. We usually practice for a little under an hour."

Skye is still making plans with Simmons as I finally close the window and start picking up to go to bed. I'm exhausted.

My phone beeps and I go to my bag to retrieve it. I notice it's the extra one Fury gave me. Instead of taking it out of the bag, I check the message where it sits.

It was a message from the Black Widow in a group message that includes Stark, Barton and me.

**Cameras on Northwest side of campus are down and sweeping toward the east. Some alarms are faulty. Clint and I are doing a perimeter check. Stark is on his way. Be on alert.

I close the phone and lock it before making my way to the window. I open it and lookout. It's dark as hell outside. I turn off the light and sweep my eyes over campus. Nothing seems out of place.

"Grant? Why did you turn off the light? What are you looking at?" Skye comes up behind me. "Hold on, Jemma."

Once I'm satisfied that there's nobody out there, I close the window and drag Skye's blinds closed.

"Grant?" Skye pokes my shoulder and I turn the light back on.

"Sorry, Princess. I just realized we've had that light on with the window open all day and we've been walking around half-naked." I quickly reply.

She rolls her eyes. "And what, you think some perv is gonna hang around to see what else will happen?" She shakes her head and flops on her bed. "Jemma, I should let you go. It's getting late and we're getting ready for bed. Right. I'll see you both tomorrow. Night."

Skye hangs up and gets up to grab her shower caddy.

"What are you doing?" I wasn't going to go let her shower, not now. I'd have to go with her and I wasn't about to go do that with Barton, Romanoff and Stark surveying the building.

"I'm going to go shower. Come on. Let's go get clean." She tugs on my boxers.

I lean back, stretching and running a hand through my hair. "Let's do that in the morning. I'm worn out. Come on, let's get some sleep."

She eyes me. She knows something is up. "You're turning down a shower? A shower together? When there's nobody on campus? Turning down shower sex?" She tilts her head. "Why?"

I smile. "I'm not turning down shower sex." I grab her hits and bring her to me, pressing her front to mine. "I'm just tired. I'd rather hold you tonight and wake up early and have shower sex when I have more energy. I'd like to lift you and press you against that wall while I fuck you. I'd like to bend you over and take you from behind. I'd like to get on my knees, with your leg thrown over my shoulder as I eat you out. But I don't have the energy for all that now. I know what I'm going to want to do to you when you're naked and under that water but I don't have the energy for any of that." I sigh. "So, I want to get a good night sleep and fuck you in the morning. What do you say, Princess?"

Her face is flushed and she has goosebumps running up her arms. I lean over and kiss the curve of her neck. I love the effect I have on her body. I nibble on the spot I've just kissed and she moans.

"Fine." She finally pouts. "But we're doing ALL that come morning."

"Promise." I smile onto her neck and kiss her once more before I lean back. "Come on, let's get to bed." I slap her ass gently as she turns.

We get into bed and I turn off her lamp, feeling like crap for lying to her. Being trained to be a SHIELD agent, I have no problem keeping secrets and lying to people, seeing as it serves a greater purpose. There's just something so wrong in keeping Skye in the dark when it has to do with her own safety.

She snuggles up to me and I force my body to relax as she falls asleep. I wait until she's completely out of it before I get up and check out the window again. I don't see anything at first and then I see something across the sky. That would be Iron Man aka Tony Stark.

I keep my eyes low to the ground, looking for something out of place.

I don't see anything. I cross the room to grab the cell and check it for any new messages.

**Systems back and running.

That message was from Tony.

There's a new one from Barton.

**Care to tell us why you didn't report in today?

I sigh and respond.

**Nothing to report. Came back from the Coulson's and stayed in watching movies. Nothing out of place here.

**Keep an eye on her, Ward. I have a feeling these people will be making their move soon.

Romanoff responds.

A tingling feeling moves up my spine. I don't like hearing that from the Black Widow. I trust her instincts. I'll be damned if I let any of those assholes near Skye.

**Any leads on who it might be?

I ask.

**Negative. They're covering their tracks but I'll find them.

I don't know if I should trust Stark's comment or take it as his ego talking.

No more text come in for another three hours.

**Go to bed, kid. You're going to need some energy tomorrow as you're on full time babysitting duty.

Tony texts me. I put my phone away and get back in bed with Skye. She cuddles around me as soon as she feels me next to her and I wrap my arms around her. I fall asleep instantly.


	13. Chapter 13

SKYE POV

I can smell him as soon as I wake up. My head is buried in his chest. I love waking up with Grant. I can't get over how safe I feel with him.

His hand is stroking my back.

"You ready for that shower, Princess?" He asks. His voice is thick from sleep. I flush as I remember our conversation from last night.

"Hell yea." I kiss him just below his nipple.

We quickly grab our things and make our way to the showers. I curse not having my own separate shower. Maybe I should request a bigger dorm. The bigger dorms come with a kitchenette and a bathroom but now that I think about it, the bathroom is tiny. That wouldn't work for us, Grant is huge.

As soon as we get in the shower and the water is on, Grant turns me to face him. His hand on my throat as he pushes me against the wall. His hand doesn't hold pressure, it's just enough to have moved me back.

I look up at him and see a black hunger in his eyes that I swear must match mine. Every cell in my body craves him. His body calls mine and I shiver and he presses his nose into my hair.

His hand drops to play with my pussy. He plays with me to get me ready but as soon as he touches me, he feels how ready I already am.

"You're so wet already." He growls and that act makes me wetter.

He takes me exactly how he said he would last night. I have exactly five orgasms before we finally shower and make our way back to my room.

"Let's go grab my swim gear and then grab some breakfast." He laces his fingers with mine and I nod.

I grab my wallet, keys and phone and we're off.

Trip isn't in the dorm, which is disappointing. He'll be at practice with Grant though. I should ask him to go to lunch with us. I haven't hung out with him and I feel like a bad friend.

"We should invite Trip to lunch today." I tell Grant as he puts his overnight bag in his closet and grabs another which I assume has his swimwear.

"Whatever you want, baby." He comes and gives me a sweet kiss. "I know I should feel bad for monopolizing your time but I don't if I'm being honest."

I smile. "I'm being a bad friend. I haven't spent time with him outside of class."

"You're not a bad friend. He understands, Princess." He tells me as we exit his room and go looking for something to eat.

We walk and talk and decide on a little coffee shop close to the edge of campus near the pool.

We're sitting enjoying our breakfast when I spot Kara across the lawn. She's staring and I can feel her anger from where I'm sitting.

I ignore her and don't let Grant know that she's watching us.

"Hey, guys. How was your Thanksgiving?" I turn to see Lincoln standing by our table.

I plaster on a smile. "Hi, Lincoln. It was good. How was yours?"

He shrugs. "Food was good. I ended up meeting a friend."

"What are you doing here, Lincoln?" Grant asks, not hiding his irritation.

I give him a look. He has to be nice. Lincoln is friends with Fitzsimmons and after the misunderstanding last week, he'd been nice.

Grant ignores my look. "You've been around Operations a lot lately." He states.

Lincoln smiles and nods. "Yea, I'm meeting a friend for breakfast."

I choose to ignore the look Grant is giving Lincoln. "Is this the same friend you met with for Thanksgiving?" I ask with a smile. I bet it's a girl.

Lincoln's smile grows and he flushes. "I better go. I have to meet her in ten minutes. I'll see you guys later. Have a good weekend." Lincoln waves and walks away.

"Grant," I say after Lincoln is out of earshot, "you need to stop being rude. He's really good friends with Fitzsimmons. He's apologized."

"I don't like that guy." Grant's eyes follow Lincoln.

I roll my eyes. "Come on. Let's get you to practice."

I eat the last bite of bagel that I have in my hand and we stand to go to the pool.

Grant goes into the lockers and I go to the bleachers to wait.

Trip is already in the pool when I walk in.

Before being kidnapped, I would have loved to swim in this pool. The pool is an Olympic style pool. It's sixteen feet deep and there are some diving boards. I look at it longingly. I used to love to swim. Now the thought of water sends me into a panic.

I wave to Trip when he sees me. He swims over and I walk over to near the edge of the pool. "Hey, stranger."

"Hey, babygirl. Long time no see." He doesn't get out.

"Yea. I'm sorry." I apologize.

His smile is wide and genuine. "Don't worry about it, girl. As long as you're happy. Are you?" He asks.

I nod with my own smile. "Very." I love Trip. He's always looking out for me.

"That's all that matters."

"We're going to lunch after this with Fitzsimmons. Do you want to join us?" I ask hoping he'll say yes.

"Yea. That works. I was going to hit the gym but I can do that later."

"Yes." My eyes go wide. "Wait till this evening. I'll go with you. I've missed so much gym time. I feel like a pig. I can feel myself get sluggish."

Trip chuckles. He knows about my lazy tendencies. "I bet you've been burning all kinds of calories without going to the gym." He teases.

My eyes go wide. "Trip. Oh my gawd. Why would you say that? Don't be gross. You're like my brother. Please, no sex talk."

Trip chuckles. "Because I know Grant." He shakes his head. "And I went out with a girl who stays down the hall from you."

I frown, not understanding the second part of his explanation.

Trips belly laughs, his head leaning back, hitting the water. "She says the girls in your hall have heard some heavy sounds coming from your dorm room."

Heat hits my face and my eyes go wide. Oh my gawd. I know I'm not quiet. Grant teases me about it. Hell, he encourages it.

"What's so funny?" Grant asks from my left.

I turn and I stop my jaw from dropping. Holy hell he looks hot in his little trunks. There's nothing left for the imagination. The trunks cling onto every curve of his body and his bulge is on display. My mouth goes dry.

"Princess, you keep looking at me like that and I'll have to miss practice." Grant warns me as he approaches me. His eyes black with a hunger I know only too well.

I gulp.

"Hey, I'm right here. I don't want to see or hear any of that." Trip warns and it snaps me out of my daze. "That's disgusting."

Grant kisses me right behind the ear and I shiver. I put my arms around his waist and hold him close.

"Hello? Am I talking to myself?" Trip asks a little louder. "Come on Ward. She's like my sister. Back off, will you?"

Grant growls in my ear and steps back. I catch him rolling his eyes and it makes me giggle.

"Grant! Triplett! Hate to interrupt but practice is starting." Agent Johnson calls over. He sees me and calls out, "Agent Coulson, I'd appreciate if you didn't distract my students."

"Yes, sir." I answer and make my way back to the bleachers.

For the next forty minutes, I watch Grant swim and dive. I'm impressed with his speed but then again, he does everything perfectly so I shouldn't have been surprised.

I'm so into watching Grant that at first, I don't notice Fitzsimmons approach the bleachers.

"If you keep looking at him, you're going to burn a hole right through those speedos." Simmons jokes and her presence makes me jump.

"Sorry. Hey, guys." I greet them.

Fitz climbs to the row behind me and Simmons sits next to him.

We start discussing where we can go for lunch when someone approaches us.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Skye Coulson. Who knew little miss priss would swoop in on another woman's man?" I turn to see Kara approaching us.

My anger rises immediately at the look she's giving me. I'm not going to let her bait me. "What are you doing here, Kara?"

Her smile doesn't reach her eyes. "I came to talk to Grant. What does it matter to you?"

She was trying to piss me off and she was achieving her goal but I wasn't going to satisfy her. "It doesn't. Grant is free to have friends. I'm not a jealous girlfriend."

I wasn't trying to rub the fact that I was the girlfriend in her face but I wanted to remind her of who I was to him.

She fakes laughs. "Girlfriend? Now that's a joke if I've ever heard one." She looks me from head to toe before shaking her head. "Grant doesn't do girlfriends. You're dreaming if you think you're more than a quick fuck."

"I'm sorry but if she were nothing more than a quick fuck then he wouldn't have met her parents. Her grandparents or gone to her house for Thanksgiving, love." Jemma comes up behind me. "Watch yourself—Kara is it? You sound like a jealous ex—oh wait, you weren't an ex though, right? Never got past the bedroom."

I appreciated Jemma having my back but I could see the anger rise in Kara. She stepped closer to me. "Grant and I have been sleeping together for six months. Did he tell you?" She turns to me. "Did he tell you we were exclusive?"

I grind my teeth. I didn't want to hear her talk about sleeping with Grant. "I know exactly the kind of arrangement the two of you had. He told me, Kara. I'm sorry you're upset but Grant and I are together now. Get used to it because I'm not going anywhere."

She takes another step to me. "You are finally showing your true colors and everyone is going to see what kind of girl you are. You are homewrecker level, Skye. You won't be little miss innocent anymore. I'll make sure people know how you swooped in on my man."

Ok, she was really pissing me off. "He wasn't your man, Kara."

"Stop with the act. You can't be that stupid. Everyone knew—everyone knew that we were together. Even if it wasn't official, everyone knew. Don't pretend you didn't know."

"Stop, Kara. Just stop. We're going in circles. You weren't with Grant and I didn't swoop in."

"He'll get tired of you and come back to me."

She was so pathetic. "If you're fine with hanging around until then that's your decision but if I were you, I'd find some self-respect. Why wait for a man who only wants to fuck you?"

I see her eyes blaze with hate for me. "I need self-respect? You're pathetic, Skye. And you're too stupid to see that you're getting played." A smile appears on her face and this time it reaches her eyes. "Why don't you ask me where Grant was last week?"

My anger flares. "I don't have to. He was with me. Stop trying to stir shit up, Kara."

"I was with him on Monday, Skye. I left town and as soon as I got back, we saw each other again." She was getting pleasure from telling me this.

"You're lying." I say through clenched teeth. Grant wouldn't. He'd been with me all week. She was lying. She had to be lying.

"Why don't you ask him, Skye? Ask him what he did after the dance Friday night?" Her face breaks into a huge smile and my blood runs cold.

No. He wouldn't. He couldn't. But I see the truth in her face and in her smile. She'd been waiting for this. She was getting joy in telling me she'd been with Grant.

My heart breaks and tears fill my eyes. I feel nauseous.

"Grant!" I yell without meaning to. I can hear the anger and pain in my yell.

I turn to him and stalk over to the edge of the pool.

He turns to me with a smile and when he sees my expression it disappears. He looks at me and then looks behind me, probably looking at Kara and finally turns back to me.

His expression falls to guilt and it's the only admission I need.

I'm going to be sick. I'm going to throw up. The pain in my chest travels down to my stomach. I turn away from him not wanting him to see me cry.

I catch the pity and sadness in Jemma's eyes and then the same look of Fitz's face. I turn away from them.

This can't be happening to me. How could he do this? The room spins and I feel like I need air.

"Skye!" I hear Grant call for me but I flinch at his voice. I need to get away from here. "Skye!" He calls again.

It's the second call that makes Kara snap. Out of nowhere, she charges at me. I have no time to react as she pushes me backwards and I stumble. I feel my feet leave the concrete.

It feels like slow motion. I know I'm falling and I'm deathly afraid of what I'll see when the water touches me.

"No!" I scream in fear. My arms shoot out to grab ahold of something—for what, I don't know.

"Skye!" My name is screamed by multiple people but as soon as the water hits the back of my head, I can only hear his angry voice.

"Dunk her again!" Uncle John instructs.

I try to struggle against the men who are holding me down. One of the men grabs my hair and pushes me underwater.

I try to hold my breath but someone hits my stomach and I gasp. I get a mouthful of water and I can't breathe. I try to fight again but my body and mind are freaking out. I'm panicking because I need air and my lungs are filling up with water.

They've been at this for what feels like hours. I can't breathe anymore. My body gasps from air but all I get is more water in my lungs. I'm drowning. Before I can pass out, I'm pulled up.

I cough up water, as I gasp. My lungs hurt and so does my throat. I've been tossing out so much water, my throat is raw.

"Where did they take your father, Skye? Where did they take Phil for treatment?" Uncle John screams in my face and when I don't immediately answer, he punches me. He grabs me by the hair and quickly dunks me in the water and pulls me back out. "Where?!"

"Stop please." I beg him. "Stop."

"Where?" Uncle John dunks me into the water again. He pulls me out and hits me in the face again. "I can do this all day, Skye. Tell me what I need to know and I'll let you die." He promises.

That's all I want. I just want to die. I'm sick of the beatings and the electrocutions. I'm tired of the men grabbing at me and groping me. They've touched me. They've humiliated me. I'm horrified that he'll let them rape me. I just want to die. I've had enough. I don't know anything. I don't understand their questions.

Why do they want to know where dad went for cancer treatment? Why would they want to know the medication he was on? Why do they want to know how he was cured?

"Please. Please, Uncle John. I don't know. I don't know." I beg him.

"Tie her up by her feet!" He yells at the men. "Make sure to tie her hands are tied behind her back."

My eyes are swollen and I can't exactly see. Everything is blurry. They have my legs bound in chains.

"No! No!" I yell. They've done this before. They've hooked me upside down and dunked me in the water. Each time they do this, I get a blow to the head. I'm completely naked and the men cop a feel. I puke on myself as they start dragging me to hook me up.

"Let's clean her up. Make sure she stays underwater until she stops struggling." Uncle John's voice is cold and laughs at my tears. "If she doesn't give us answers, I think I'll let you guys play with her tonight." He laughs again.

"No! No!" I cry just as the water hits my face.

GRANT POV

I'm swimming toward Skye when I see Kara push Skye into the pool. Fear overtakes me and I push myself to move faster toward Skye. Her arms fling out almost as she's looking from something to hold.

Fuck. I watch Skye hit the water, her body rigid as a rock but as soon as she hits the water, her body starts to fight. Water splashes around where she fell and the water underneath is shifting.

She makes no move to come back from under the water. I dive under and see her struggling as if she's fighting someone. Her eyes are closed and her mouth seems to be yelling something. All she's doing is swallowing water and I swim faster.

She can't drown. I'll get her in time. I try to push the dark thoughts out of my head and swim faster and faster.

I finally reach her and make my way to the surface. It's hard because she's struggling in my arms. I see Trip reaching for her with Fitz by his side. I move toward them and they both pull her out of the water. She's coughing up water and moving from side to side.

I pull myself out of the pool and move to her side.

"Skye? Baby, look at me. It's me, Princess. Come on. Open your eyes. Come back to me." I take her hand and place it over my heart. "Come on, sweetheart. Breathe with me. Princess?" She cries and struggles, still coughing up water.

It tears my heart to see her like this. She's back there, reliving her past horror and I'm powerless.

"Simmons, call May or Coulson. Let them know she's having an attack." I order my shoulder at Simmons. She's in tears as she looks away from Skye. She looks at me before grabbing her phone. The look she gave me throws me off. I saw anger and hate in her eyes.

"Fitz, do you know who Skye's doctor is?" I turn to Fitz.

He nods.

"Call him. Get him to her dorm." I instruct before turning back to Skye.

"Ward, did you know?" Trip asks me. He looks from Skye to me with complete horror on his face. His face tells me how broken hearted he is.

I nod.

"Please." I barely hear Skye. She speaks so quietly but she sounds like she's pleading. "I want to die. Let me die."

My heart stops and breaks. My beautiful girl wanted to die. What in the hell had they done to her for her to wish for death? It makes me sick with hate. I want to hug her.

She's still struggling against me. I keep holding her hand against my chest. "Come on, Princess. I need you to open your eyes. I need you to come back to me."

She coughs the last bit of water and she whimpers.

"I-I did-I'm sorry. I didn't know." Kara's voice comes from above my head and all I see is red. I drop Skye's hand and stand to face Kara.

Rage radiates off my skin.

Kara shrinks into herself. "Grant, I'm so sorry. I didn't know she—she—"

"From now on, you don't look at her, you don't talk to her, you don't come near her. Do you understand me, Kara?! I'm done with your shit. Stay away from us." I explode.

"Grant, I didn't know." Kara pleads and tries to reach for me.

"I don't care about what you know or don't know. I knew you can be vindictive and petty and that's what happened today. I don't care. Keep your apology and get out of my face." I turn my back on her and go back to Skye.

I pick her up. I need to get her out of these wet clothes and into her room. Trip and Fitzsimmons tail me. Skye is stiff and I can feel her muscles contract as I carry her.

It's not until we're halfway through campus that I realize that Trip and I are only in our swimwear. I push the thought to the back of my mind and hurry to her room.

When I finally arrive at her room, I open her door and sit her on her chair. I grab a towel and throw it over her shoulders.

I look for clothes to change her into and grab the pair of sweats I left in her room last night. I throw on the sweats. I set the clothes on the bed near her and try to dry her hair out with the towel. She's sitting up and shaking. She's still crying but she's still very stiff.

I move the towel off of her and start to undress her and remember Trip and Fitz are in the room. I turn to them and they face the wall.

I start taking her top off when Simmons surprises me by pushing my hands away from Skye. "I can do that. You can leave now, Grant. May and Coulson are on their way. We can wait with Skye until then."

I frown in confusion. "What? No. I'm staying."

"Will you please leave so that I can change her?" Simmons huffs.

"It's ok. I can do it." What is wrong with her?

"Trip will you kindly do me the favor of escorting Grant out of the room so that I can get Skye out of these wet clothes?" Simmons barks.

Ok. What the hell is her problem? "It's fine, Simmons. She'll be ok with me changing her." I reach for Skye again.

Simmons explodes. "Get your damn hands off her!"

"Jemma, come on—" Fitz comes forward, his hand on Simmons' shoulder.

"No! No! You heard what she said. You heard what he did." Simmons argues. "Don't defend him now." What is she talking about? What did I do?

"I am not defending him. I'm just trying to calm you down." Fitz says evenly. "We don't know what Skye can hear so I don't want to agitate her more than she already is." His voice is getting calmer but when he turns to me, I can see the same anger in his eyes that Simmons had in hers. "Ward, it's best if you left."

I don't know what the hell they're going on about but I'm not leaving. "I'm staying."

"Ward, man. Come on. Let Jemma change Skye." Trip turns to me.

I growl in annoyance. "Fine. But I'm not leaving."

I stand next to Trip, facing the door. Fitz comes to stand near us and I can hear Simmons talking to Skye in a gentle tone. No matter how pissed she is off with me, I can't be angry with her at how gentle she is with Skye.

After a couple of minutes, Simmons tells us she's finished.

It's not long after that when there's a knock on the door but before I can move to answer it, the door opens. A young-looking man who I've never seen walks in. He looks to be in his late twenties or early thirties.

I step in his way, not letting him through. "Who the hell are you?"

The guy looks at me like he doesn't have time for this and tries to step around me but I step in front of him once again.

"Kindly get out of my way. I need to see Skye." He tries to get by.

"Ward. Ward. That's Dr. Hart." Simmons shoves my shoulder. "Thank you for coming, Dr. Hart. We just got her into some dry clothes. She hasn't spoken a word. She was thrashing around in the beginning but has calmed down since. She's given no indication that she can hear us."

Damn. Bad first impression. Why I care what he thinks of me, I don't know but I know I want him to like me. This guy can tell Skye if she should be with me or not.

He kneels next to Skye and looks at her face before he says, "We should get her on the bed."

I pick her up before anyone can move and put her on her bed. Simmons had removed Skye's shoes and socks. I go to her drawer and find her a pair before slipping them on. Skye hated cold feet.

"Can I please have the room?" Dr. Hart looks at us over his shoulder.

"Of course." Fitzsimmons reply as one.

I clench my teeth. I don't want to leave her.

"Come on, man. Let's give the doc some room." Trip tries to pull me as Fitzsimmons exit the room.

I don't budge. "Is there anything I can do?"

Dr. Hart shakes his head. "Her body is still in fight or flight. I have to talk her back and ground her before we can get her fully back. For the next day or so she might experience headaches, body aches and pains, disorientation, and or confusion. She might experience small flashbacks or panic attacks. You can help her then but for now, I have to ground her and it's proven to take a while with Skye in the past."

The door closes behind me and I know Trip has stepped out of the room.

I try to wrap my mind around everything he's just explained. This is much worse than what I thought. I should have looked into PTSD when I found out Skye had it to better help her. I feel like shit for not knowing this and I hate Kara more than anything at this moment.

I thought I hated my brother for what he did to me but I'd gladly go back there if I could trade that for Skye's safety and state of mind.

Fuck Kara Palamas! Fuck me for ever getting involved with her! Fuck me for being an asshole to Skye! And fuck me for being a shitty boyfriend!

"Can I try?" I ask. When Dr. Hard gives me a confused look, I add, "To ground her, I mean. I've been able to do it in the past."

He looks at me for a second and finally nods.

I move to be by her side and hold her hand. "Princess, can you hear me? It's me. Come on, I need you to pull out of this." She gives no indication that she can hear me but I continue and move her hand back to my chest. This usually works. "Princess, come on. I'm right here. You're safe. We're in your dorm. You're safe. I won't let anything happen to you. Dr. Hart is here, baby. Come back to me. You're safe." I search her face and body for any changes. I don't see anything.

"Thanks for trying, Grant. Give me a moment to try. You can step out into the hall." Dr. Hart's hand is on my shoulder but I need to give it one more try.

"Please, Princess." I beg. "You're safe. I'm right here. We're in your dorm. I got you. Feel my breathing. Breathe with me." I plead and just as I'm about to get up, her eyes begin to open. A sigh with relief and my body relaxes. "I'm right here, Princess. Breathe with me. You're safe. You're safe."

Her eyes move to mine and she frowns. She looks confused. "Talk." She finally speaks.

I rattle on about nonsense. I have no idea what I'm saying but I'm so damn relieved that she's conscious that I continue. Her breathing evens out. She looks exhausted.

She notices Dr. Hart. "Was it bad? What happened?" She asks him.

He nods. "Grant, thank you for your help. I'll need to talk to Skye now."

I know it's time for me to leave. I just needed to know she was ok. I don't want to go but I'm of no use for now. "Sure." I answer looking at him and then turn back to Skye. "I'll be right outside, sweetheart." I lean down and press a kiss to her forehead before going outside.

May and Coulson are here and look up when I exit the room. I notice Trip is gone.

"How is she?" May asks coming forward.

"She's opened her eyes. She's grounded." I answer and I'm shocked when a smile appears on May's face before she cries.

"Oh, thank God." Simmons hugs Fitz.

"We're going to go and get out of your hair." Fitz holds Simmons. "Let us know if you need anything. If you need someone to watch Skye, we're here." He says.

Coulson nods and lets them leave.

Coulson takes May in his arms and rubs her back. He looks at me over his wife's head. "It normally takes him hours to pull her out. How did she seem?"

"She looked exhausted but she was back. Where ever she went, she's back." I answer trying not to let my stomach turn with the information of how bad Skye gets. No matter how much I hear, no matter how much I know, it still takes me by surprise when I hear about her experience.

"What happened? What set her off?" May asks when she's composed herself.

Guilt overtakes me. They both look at me, waiting for answers.

"Kara." I answer. "It was my fault. She and I—" fuck, how do I say this? "Kara and I were kind of seeing each other before I started seeing Skye. She didn't like the fact that I was seeing Skye. I didn't handle it well when I spoke to her about our relationship."

Coulson shakes his head. "No. We made sure you weren't involved with anyone. You wouldn't have gotten the assignment to pretend to be Skye's boyfriend if you were dating Kara."

I drop my gaze in shame. "We weren't exactly dating." I answer before looking back up.

Coulson's face is a shade of red that I have never seen before and May looks uncomfortable.

"You were sleeping with her?" He asks and I don't want to answer, so I nod like a coward. "We're all set here. You can go."

May steps forward and raises a hand to calm Coulson. "What did Kara do, Grant?"

I clear my throat. "She pushed her in the pool." I'd been pissed at Kara but in all reality, it was my fault. I'd handled the situation wrong and been an asshole to Kara. Sure, she'd been a bitch and pushed Skye into a pool but how was she supposed to know Skye would be triggered. "I'm sure she was mad at Skye and wouldn't have done it if she'd known better."

"Thank you for bringing her here. You can leave now." Coulson repeats himself.

"I'm not going anywhere." I say trying to stay calm.

"Consider yourself off the assignment. You are free to go." Coulson's voice becomes colder and he steps closer to me.

"Phil, I don't think—" May starts.

"No, Melinda." Coulson turns to May. "I don't want him here. You were right. It was a mistake to get him involved and now our daughter is going through an attack because of him."

I try to calm myself. "You can kick me off this assignment but I'm not going anywhere."

"That's an order, Agent Ward." He barks at me.

"Phil." Melinda tries again.

"With all due respect, sir, I'm not here as an agent. You've already kicked me off the assignment. That's fine but I'm not leaving."

"You're not even friends with our daughter. From all accounts you hate her so why may I ask are you not leaving?"

"I don't hate your daughter. I admit I was an asshole to her when we first met and I regret everything I did and said to her but I've never hated her. I care about your daughter. And you're right, we aren't friends. I'm dating her—have been together for a week now."

He charges at me and pushes me against the wall. I let myself get pushed. I'm not going to put my hands on Skye's father.

"Phil! Are you crazy? Let him go." May comes forward and grabs his arm. "Let him go now."

Coulson gives me a menacing look before he shoves off me.

"You're to stay away from my daughter from now on." He threatens and I shake my head.

"I'm sorry, sir. I can't do that." I stay against the wall.

"Philip, please. This is not the time." May looks like she's had enough. "Grant, maybe you should leave. We'll call you when she's better." She looks at me.

I shake my head. "I'm sorry but I'm staying. I talked to Dr. Hart and she's going to need me for the next couple of days. I'm sure you both have things to do. I can stay with her. I can take time off my classes. I'm ahead in all of them. I'm sure I can talk to the instructors to take some time off."

"No. Absolutely not." Coulson shakes his head. "There's no way you're staying with her." He continues to shake his head.

"You trust me with her safety but you won't let me stay with her?" I burst out. "I hate to tell you this but I've stayed with her before and I'll be staying with her now. I'm not going to leave when she needs me."

I can see Coulson boil over. I know I've done a lot of messed up things and I probably don't deserve her but I'm staying as long as she'll have me. He may know me as some player but that's who I was before Skye. I won't mess this up.

"Breathe, Phil. Breathe."

"Melinda." Coulson clearly tries to calm himself.

"Phil, please. Can we please just focus on Skye right now? He's right and you know it. We trusted him to keep watch over Skye."

"To watch over her not get into her bed." He snaps at his wife.

I stay silent because anything I say now will only make it worse.

"For christ sake, Phil. She's twenty-two years old. She's not a child. You have to let her make her own choices. You're not always going agree with her choices but they're hers to make." May's hands are on Coulson's face and I can see him calm down. Impressive. He's totally whipped. "And you." She turns pointing a finger at my face. "I've heard about you. If you so much as think about playing with my daughter you will deal with me, do you understand?"

I nod.

"My daughter has been through enough, Grant. I won't let you hurt her. I'll make sure you feel her pain one way or another." The look on her face makes me pause. I believe the words coming out of her mouth. "I can't hear you." She gives me a look.

"Yes, ma'am. I understand. I won't hurt her, at least not on purpose." I promise her. Damn, she's scary as hell.

Coulson's phone rings. He gives me a look before he answers. "Director. Yes, Dr. Hart is with her right now. She was thrown into a pool. No, it was just a mistake. I don't think they meant any harm. Nobody could have known, although it's probably now around campus."

May leans against the opposite wall, glaring at me. We both wait for Coulson to be done.

"I'm taking Grant Ward off the assignment. At least the fake assignment where he pretends to be her boyfriend." Coulson tenses. "I wasn't aware there was a bet going on. Yes, sir. No, I'm not. I will. Goodbye." Coulson shoots me a look before hanging up.

"Bet?" May raises an eyebrow at Coulson.

Coulson's nose flares. "Clint, Tony, Maria and Nick had a bet going on whether Skye and Ward would end up dating through the assignment."

I hold back my smile and chuckle because I know it won't be appreciated. I wonder who bet for or against us.

We remain silent after this and Dr. Hart doesn't exit for another hour. He tells us Skye is sleeping and that she'll be out for a couple of more hours. He'll be back to check on her in the next couple of days.

May takes Coulson to buy Skye some comfort foods to have when she wakes.

I head inside the room and clean up. I put her wet clothes in the hamper as they were still sitting in a corner. I throw out her trash and organize her refrigerator. I make sure to pull out her meds in case she needs them and put some water in her fridge.

I call Trip and ask him to bring me my overnight bag with a couple days of outfits. He comes by and stays a while.

He was upset with me. Like everyone else, he blamed what Kara had done on me because of how I had handled the situation. I knew he had a lot to say but he held back not wanting Skye to overhear anything he was saying.

Skye mumbled in her sleep a lot. She stirred a lot too but she didn't look like she was having bad dreams, so I sat and watched her.

"Grant." She mumbled. I sat on the bed, not knowing if she was waking up. I took her hand in mine.

"I'm here, Princess. I'm right here." I move some hair out of her face.

"We're going to be late for Thanksgiving." She mumbles and turns on her side frowning.

I smile at her worry. "It's ok, sweetheart. I'll talk to your parents. Go back to sleep." I kiss her on the lips.

"Mmmm." She gives a small moan with a smile on her face. "I love you."

I freeze on the spot. She what?


End file.
